The Guardians
by Golden Sun Guy 17
Summary: Long ago, the Four Guardians saved Weyard from the chaos invoked by Alchemy. However, they vanished without a trace. Who or what are the Guardians? None of the eight adepts have heard of them. However, they are warned that without the power of the Guardians, the eight cannot succeed in igniting the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse.
1. The Great Western Sea and Contigo

**Well here we go! First story I'll ever publish, let me know what ya think. I'll try and update this as fast as possible. One thing that really bugged me about fanfictions were all the great stories that were never finished. Also having to wait for chapters to update was kinda annoying. This story contains minor spoilers about Golden Sun: The Lost Age. I am assuming since you are reading this, you have taken the time to beat it. Enjoy!**

**I apologize in advance, as this story is a little on the longer side and starts off rather slow. The main plot doesn't start until later chapters, but I promise it will be worth the read if you like lengthy, epic stories. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Golden Sun or anything to do with it, that belongs to Nintendo and Camelot. I just like writing stories about it.**

* * *

Garet was the only person on the deck on the ship the four of them had acquired from Lord Babi. He was meaninglessly strolling around while everyone else was asleep. It was only about an hour before dawn. During the day they had just crossed into the Great Western Sea. The four of them had been traveling the Great Eastern Sea for a couple of months now.

The gigantic spire blocking the way to the Great Western Sea had disappeared. The four of them concluded it must have been an adept's work, and as such, it had to have been Felix and his group. The four of them had heard tales of his heroism throughout their travels of the Great Eastern Sea. They had heard from the Madrans and Alhafrans that they brought the pirate Briggs to justice. They heard from the Izumans that his group defeated the Great Serpent of Mt. Mikage. They heard from the Champans that Felix had re-forged the ancient Trident of Ankohl.

_It just doesn't make sense.. if Felix wants to destroy the world, why is he going around helping everyone_? Garet thought to himself. It was his turn to keep watch for the night, but he didn't mind. After all, they never knew what kind of monsters would attack. Already creatures from the sea had jumped onto the ship and attempted to attack his company. But the monsters they had encountered stood no chance against the four young promising adepts. Ivan was even keeping an encyclopedia about the kinds of monsters that had boarded the ship. What the monsters did, their weakness, their abilities, even their colors and how many were typically in their groups were all recorded with pictures of them. _Man keeping watch is so boring sometimes… nothing to do but sit here and wait around._ Garet thought to himself. His stomach then growled fiercely.

_Oh man am I hungry. I wonder if any of that jerky is left._ And so Garet went into the kitchen of the Lemurian ship, and grabbed various foodstuffs before returning on deck. When he returned to the deck of the ship he noticed two things. The sun had started rising; displaying beautiful mixed shades of yellow, red and orange and Isaac was standing there, looking into the horizon. He walked next to his best friend and they stood in silence for a good while. After what had seemed like a couple of minutes Isaac finally started the conversation.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Isaac said.

"Sure is man." Garet responded. He offered Isaac a piece of jerky he had retrieved from the kitchen. Isaac took it with gratitude and they both sat on deck, eating jerky and talking until the two others made their way on deck.

"The way the colors are on the horizon… reminds me of the color of Jenna's hair..." Isaac said solemnly.

Garet sighed. He knew where this conversation was going. He had tried to talk to Isaac about it many times, but to no avail. It was time to confront Isaac about it, this mood of his had gone on far too long. "I know you're concerned about her man, I am too. But I'm almost positive she is fine. She's a tough chick, remember? You know how scary she gets when she's angry." Garet responded.

Isaac allowed himself to let out a small laugh. "Yeah I know... but still, I just can't help but worry. You know? The Jenna I know would never help destroy Weyard, even if the person who wants to do it is Felix." Isaac said.

"That's all you've been talking about lately Isaac! Even if the Wise One hadn't given us the quest to stop the Lighthouses from being lit you would have left Vale on your own just to go and get her back. We all know how much you like her Isaac; hell I dunno, you might even love her. I don't know why she's choosing to help Felix, but worrying about her won't solve any problems. You've been really distracted by it lately. I've noticed. Even Mia and Ivan have talked to me about it, we're really worried about you man. When we go into battle you aren't the proud leader you once were. When we go to eat, you almost never finish anything; before you would ask for seconds on almost everything, and that's my thing! You have even been quieter than usual and keeping to yourself in your room most of the time. C'mon Isaac, you gotta cheer up not just for us, but for Jenna too!" Garet responded.

Isaac let out a huge sigh while looking down. He knew Garet was right, and that's exactly why he was Isaac's best friend. Garet could read what was going on with Isaac no matter what it was. It was annoying sometimes, but he knew he never would have gotten this far without Garet.

"You… you know you're right Garet. But that's easy for you to say when the girl you care about is always with us and on our side. Imagine if Mia had decided to help Alex. Then Mia would take Jenna's place. You would be just as worried if this was the case." As Isaac finished his sentence his mood visibly lightened.

Garet's face turned a little red at that comment and turned to look at Isaac. Isaac raised an eyebrow in response waiting for an answer from Garet.

"Wha.. what are you talking about Isaac?" Garet said trying to play off his facial expression.

"You know very well what I'm talking about Garet." Isaac said with a smirk. "You really think I haven't noticed you two spending a lot of time together? You two **ALWAYS** talk long after meals and during downtime. Hell, sometimes you even skip your duty on ship just to go hang out with her." Isaac continued, elbowing Garet friendly in the ribs.

Garet simply smiled and crossed his arms his cheeks were a bright red, "Man, nothing escapes you Isaac… but shut up! …And don't tell Mia!" Garet said as he punched Isaac in the arm. Isaac was Garet's best friend. Isaac knew anything and everything there was to know about his personality. Isaac almost always knew what Garet was thinking. On most occasions, Isaac knew what Garet was going to say most of the time before Garet even said anything. But that was the brotherly bond they both shared.

"Ouch! Okay, okay I won't!" Isaac said, laughing as he rubbed the spot where Garet had punched him. "And… thanks Garet… I guess I've been thinking about Jenna and our quest so much lately that I just… lost myself." Isaac continued. Garet always knew how to cheer him up.

"Don't mention it. It'll be nice to have the old you back to leading us!" Garet exclaimed.

It was a little before noon when Garet and Isaac heard "Morning!" which two voices said in unison. Isaac and Garet turned around to see Ivan and Mia standing behind them still in their night clothes.

They exchanged morning greetings before Ivan asked, "See anything worth adding to the encyclopedia last night Garet?"

"Naa, nothing even happened last night. It was boring as hell, but, I did manage to get Isaac out of his rut this morning before you two woke up." Garet said smugly.

"Yeah, he did. No more sad, mopey Isaac from now on. I didn't realize it had affected the team so much, so I promise not to act that way again." Isaac claimed with the biggest smile on his face the three of them had seen in a long time.

"Did you really!? YAY!" Mia shouted as she gave Isaac a very tight hug. "I missed the old Isaac!" She said.

Ivan smiled as he put a hand on Isaac's shoulder, "It's nice to have the old Isaac back. The one that helped me back in Vault." He said. "But anyway, what's the plan for today?" Ivan asked yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Well before we discuss that, I think we should make breakfast first, I dunno about you guys but I'm starving. That jerky didn't cut it." Isaac responded.

"Yeah me either." Added Garet.

"I agree completely, what should I start on?" Mia asked. "Eggs? Perhaps a little mutton, or maybe…? Oh I know! But I'm going to go put some proper clothes on." She bolted back into the door which led to the bedrooms before going into the kitchen.

The three boys looked at each other confused before shrugging. Best to leave her too it. Although Mia was the designated healer of the group, it didn't dismiss the fact that she was an excellent cook. She never revealed what she was making, until the three of them sat down to the table. Before they had met her, Ivan Garet and Isaac were forced to eat whatever they could gather from the wild, and supplies that they had to stock up on before leaving each town they visited. The food they had on their travels wasn't the best tasting, but empty bellies needed to be filled for young traveling heroes. Ivan went to get dressed for the day, then the three of them went into the study, which had a very large table in the center with a large map of Weyard pinned onto it.

Isaac began, "So today after we eat lunch, we should be close to the continent of Atteka," he said while pointing to the continent. "That being said after we dock the ship, we should be able to visibly see the Jupiter Lighthouse. Also, according to this map, there should be a town about half a days travel away from the Jupiter Lighthouse. It is marked on the map, but the town doesn't seem to have a name to go with it." Ivan and Garet nodded in response.

Ivan then asked, "So what should we do when we reach Atteka? Find that town and re-stock on supplies or what?"

"That is exactly what we do Ivan. If we're lucky we can find it quickly, get some more supplies and rent rooms in the inn before we set out for the Lighthouse tomorrow." Isaac responded. Right after Isaac completed his sentence they heard a loud noise accompanied by the ship rocking. The three nodded at each other, grabbed their weapons; a longsword for Isaac, an axe for Garet, and a staff for Ivan that were leaned against the table and rushed out the door.

What they saw on deck took all three of them by complete surprise, as none of them had seen these creatures before. Three giant Turtle Dragons accompanied by two Gillmen were crowded on the deck of the ship. At the same time they stepped out, Mia had slammed the kitchen door open, her staff in hand, and had the same look of surprise on her face as did the three boys. Isaac couldn't help but let out a small laugh seeing Mia in a kitchen apron going into battle. The three Turtle Dragons let out the loudest roar they had heard since their fight with the Fusion Dragon.

Isaac nodded to Garet and Ivan, took a battle stance, and leaped into the five monsters with his blade. Garet followed behind him with his axe; the two of them hacking and slashing away while Ivan and Mia were casting psynergy from a distance. Ivan casted a Destruct Ray, which hit all three of the Turtle Dragons, and distracted them long enough for Isaac to unleash his Djinn, Flint onto the middle Turtle Dragon, felling it as he did.

Garet noticed with the middle monster gone, the two Turtle Dragons and Gillmen were disoriented with their two groups separated. He took this chance to cast Heat Wave onto the second Turtle Dragon which felled it, leaving only a Gillman on the left side to deal with. Garet's axe clashed with the Gillman's trident, they both matched attacks many times over. Neither of them could best each other, which surprised Garet. Usually by this time in the battle he would have felled any other creature that stood before him, yet this Gillman was just as skilled a warrior with a trident as he was with his axe.

Meanwhile on the right side Mia casted her own Ice Missile directed at the two monsters on the right side, with Isaac attacking them with his blade. The Mercury psynergy visibly had little to no effect on the two creatures of the sea. Mia then decided it would be better to save her psynergy for her allies if they got hurt than to use it to attack. Isaac crossed his blade with the trident of the Gillman. Isaac was presented with the same problem as Garet, the Gillman was a very skilled warrior with the trident, and Isaac couldn't find an opening to get in an attack. Meanwhile, the Turtle Dragon noticed the two warrior adepts clashing with its two allied Gillmen. It took this chance to unleash Aqua Breath on Isaac and Garet.

Garet finally managed to cleave into the Gillman with his axe, which felled it. However, Garet turned around only to see the Aqua Breath attack headed his way. Garet braced himself before the attack collided with him, and he was knocked back into one of the walls on the ship. He doubled over in pain as the Mercury based attack had an increased effect on his Mars alignment. Mia noticed this and quickly cast a Pure Ply his way. He felt all the pain leave his body and met Mia's gaze. His eyes gave the message of 'thank you' as he stood up. Mia's eyes returned the message 'you're welcome.'

Isaac noticed the Turtle Dragon charge the attack beforehand and leapt high into the air to dodge the Aqua Breath, as he came down, he casted Ragnarok at the Gillman which felled it. With its allies dead the Turtle Dragon decided to make its last stand. The four of them all cautiously advanced upon the creature. Ivan took this time to cast Impact on Isaac.

Isaac felt strength surging through his body, and let out an attack. His sword glowed with a familiar light and he smiled. He missed this feeling. His Gaia Blade had let out a howl. As the Titan Blade came down upon the Turtle Dragon, the other three adepts watched in awe at the power of the attack. Needless to say, this felled the final Turtle Dragon, granting them victory in their first fight against monsters in the Great Western Sea.

"Showoff." Garet said casually as he walked over to Isaac and put a hand on his shoulder. "Although it did have a nice touch to it." He added smiling. Isaac just laughed.

"Those monsters were pretty resilient. It seems like the monsters in the Great Western Sea are much stronger than the monsters in the Great Eastern Sea." Ivan stated.

"No kidding, those things with the tridents were hard to match up too. It took me a while to find an opening." Garet said. Isaac nodded in agreement to Garet's statement.

"Well, I'm going to go log these creatures in the encyclopedia, I'll be right back." Ivan said as he disappeared into the door leading to their rooms.

"Well that's a way to start off the day! I guess I'll continue making breakfast, it'll be done shortly." Mia said with a smile poking at a Turtle Dragon corpse with her staff before leaving.

"Garet help me toss these things overboard, but leave one of each monster, Ivan still has to log them." Isacc said. Garet nodded and they tossed three of the five monsters overboard, but leaving two (one of each) for Ivan to study and log in the Monster Encyclopedia. Not much happened after the brief battle with the sea monsters. Isaac was guiding the ship towards the continent of Atteka while Garet was walking aimlessly around the deck. Ivan was still writing in his encyclopedia lifting a fin here, opening a closed eye there, scribbling images in several places, to fulfill his thirst for knowledge. He was a smart kid, and as such, wanted to learn about everything he could.

Ten minutes passed before Mia poked her head out of the kitchen door and yelled, "Food's ready!"

When the four of them sat down to the kitchen table, Mia set down a large pot in the middle of the table filled with hot soup. She passed out four bowls for each of them, and put a large ladle in soup pot. "Help yourselves; I'm sure you'll like it!" She said while sitting down. Garet was the first to grab the ladle and poured soup into his large bowl. Then Isaac and Ivan proceeded to follow. "So what exactly is this Mia?" Garet asked.

"It is a traditional Imilian dish. It is called _cotliqua. _It has healing properties as well as a delicious taste. We usually have it for holidays or when people are sick in Imil, but I just felt like making it today. It has potatoes, carrots, shellfish meat, among other things and a little bit of Lucky Pepper for good measure." Mia responded while filling her own bowl. Garet sipped the soup with a spoon and his face lightened like a warrior in a weapon store.

"Oh man this is really good Mia!" Garet said as he downed the rest of the soup. Ivan and Isaac responded the same, which made Mia blush a little.

"Why thank you!" she said a smile forming on her face as she ate. Isaac then began to talk about what the plan was, and what they were to do when they finally reached Atekka. Mia was having a hard time paying attention, as her eyes drifted to Garet, but she looked away each time he looked at her. She thought about all the evenings she had spent with Garet aboard the ship and all the conversations they had that drifted late into the night without either of them noticing. She enjoyed Garet's company a lot. She did the same with Isaac and Ivan, needless to say they were all the best of friends, but Garet was different. Conversation, laughs, stories, anything they did or talked about just felt so… natural.

Meanwhile across the table, Garet was having the same thoughts about a certain blue haired girl sitting across from him. He nodded to Isaac each time he looked at him to pretend that he was paying attention, but Garet was far away in his own thoughts. He wondered what Mia thought of him. His mind turned to the times he had conversed with Mia when he was on watch duty for the night and even in free time on the ship. His mind drifted way back to when they had first met in Imil. Suddenly, his thoughts were cut short when Isaac finally asked, "Got it?" they all nodded.

When everyone was finished with their meal Isaac offered to clean up all the dishes, which Mia thanked him graciously for. He told everyone to go pack their belongings as they would reach Atteka within the hour. Ivan made his way to the crow's nest and could see a town and the distant figure of the Jupiter Lighthouse. However there was a blanket of fog covering the entrance to an inlet. After scouting the seas and writing in his encyclopedia, he went down to the kitchen to tell Isaac about the fog.

Isaac followed him up to the crows nest to take a look at the fog. "Hmm. Doesn't really seem like much of a problem. I'll just bring the ship slowly through it so we don't hit anything." Isaac said.

Ivan nodded in response. After this, Ivan went to his room to pack while Isaac returned to cleaning the dishes. He found Mia and Garet doing the same in their rooms. After Isaac finished cleaning the dishes, he went to his own room to pack, passing by Garet and Mia having a conversation and laughing in the common room of the ship. He laughed quietly to himself.

When they all finished packing they left their backpacks and sleeping bags in the Map Room of the ship. Isaac continued guiding the ship to Atteka, Ivan was back to sitting in the crow's nest, scribbling in his encyclopedia while Garet and Mia were near the front of the ship gazing at the sea, and looking for places to dock the ship through the fog.

It was at that moment, where everything seemed perfectly fine that everything went wrong all at once. They had just reached the border of the fog off the coast of Atekka. The ship started picking up speed at an alarming rate. It started to go faster and faster into the fog. Isaac noticed it, but could do nothing to stop it. An expression of worry crossed his face.

As the fog enveloped the ship, they continued to pick up even more speed. Suddenly, an extremely loud grinding sound broke the silence, which simultaneously made the ship rock violently, and tilt heavily on its right side. The boat started to submerge slowly into the water. Garet had grabbed the railing to prevent himself from being tossed overboard. Isaac grabbed the railing around the steering wheel of the ship so as not to be thrashed by the sudden movements of the boat.

They had hit something underneath the water that made large holes in the hull of the ship. The coast of Atteka was surrounded by jagged rocks that were veiled by the fog. None of them had noticed this until it was far too late. Ivan was shook violently from the crow's nest; he started falling towards the deck of the ship.

"IVAN!" Isaac shouted as he watched. Ivan summoned a huge gust of wind to slow his fall and landed safely thanks to his psynergy. The rocking of the ship caused Mia to get knocked overboard and she fell into the fog covered sea. She hit her head on the railing of the ship on the way down which knocked her unconscious. Garet looked on with horror as he watched her fall into the deep. Not thinking about anything else that was happening around him, he jumped in after Mia. That was the last Isaac and Ivan saw of Garet or Mia for the time being. Isaac watched all of this happen and cursed to himself.

Isaac made his way over to Ivan, using the railing of the ship, to make sure he was alright. 'IM FINE, WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" Ivan yelled to Isaac. The ship was still leaning heavily on its right side.

Isaac nodded yelling, "IM GOING TO GRAB OUR BAGS, JUST GET OFF THE SHIP AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND MEET ME ON SHORE!"

Ivan shook his head, "NO, IM NOT LEAVING YOU HERE BY YOURSELF TO CARRY ALL OUR STUFF!" Isaac thought about yelling something back, but decided against it. He didn't have time to argue with Ivan now. Isaac and Ivan made their way towards the Map Room of the ship and grabbed what they could of their belongings. They slowly made it out the door, noticing the ship was continuing to sink even lower. They climbed as fast as they could dodging barrels and boxes that were falling off the right side of the ship.

They reached the side of the boat that was pointed into the air, hopped over the railing and jumped, not knowing what was ahead. The current carried them pretty far inland, but they had to swim the rest of the way to the shore. They coughed as they reached the shore collapsing on the beach, a bit of water coming out as they both coughed up a storm. When Isaac and Ivan regained their composure, they spoke at length of their situation while traveling to the town that was marked on the map.

"I hope Garet and Mia are okay…" Isaac said in desolation. "The look on Garet's face when he saw Mia fall.. it was terrible. Not to mention Mia got knocked out."

"I'm sure they are fine. Garet is strong, although he is no healer, he isn't stupid. Mia wouldn't have gone overboard if she wasn't knocked out, and Garet most likely saved her life, and is carrying her to meet at the town as we speak." Ivan responded.

"I sure hope you're right Ivan…" Isaac said as they continued marching forward.

"What I'm more worried about is the rest of our stuff that was on the ship. I barely managed to grab the encyclopedia before the ship sunk." Ivan said.

The realization hit Isaac right after Ivan said that. Sure they had their sleeping bags, a bit of food which wouldn't last more than two days, field supplies, and maybe a change of clothes or two (all of which were wet at the moment) but most of their belongings were on the ship, which was well on its way to the bottom of the sea.

"Ohhh shit you're right. Most of our gold was on the ship, I didn't grab any extra money to put in my pack. The rest of our clothes were in there, along with maps, food, and… everything. Damn it all!" Isaac shouted. His thoughts recollected saying, "Well at least we managed to grab our backpacks. And we escaped with our lives. The stuff in the ship is replaceable, we aren't. However… I'm not sure Lord Babi will take this well when we tell him his ship is at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Atekka."

"Very true. But I think having Lord Babi angry at us is the least of our problems right now. We just almost died, and lost almost all of our possessions. I just hope we find Garet and Mia soon. We don't know how injured they are or where they could be." Isaac nodded and they both continued forward.

After what seemed like an eternity walking because of wet clothes, heavy packs, and worrying about their friends, they stumbled upon the entrance of a town.

"Excuse me sir, where are we?" Ivan asked a local man walking out of town.

"This is the town of Contigo my friend… you seem… very familiar, are from here?" The stranger asked. Before Ivan had a chance to respond, they heard a voice approaching from behind the stranger.

"Isaac! Ivan! Thank Jupiter you are safe!" a voice said.

Isaac and Ivan both looked in confusion behind the man, and were very surprised at who they saw. "Master Hamma!?" They both exclaimed astonished.

She nodded before saying, "I had a vision of your group traveling to Contigo by sea in a large ship. However, it is the next part of the vision that had me worried. Am I to assume my vision is correct in that your ship is destroyed and Garet and Mia are lost at sea?"

Ivan nodded. "We didn't see the coast of Atteka was covered in huge stone spires because of the fog. Our ship is on its way to the bottom of the sea. Mia fell off the ship and banged her head on the railing which knocked her out. Garet jumped in after her. We haven't seen either of them since." He responded.

Hamma started, "Then there is no time. We must go and find them right away… Chen," she turned to the stranger, "would you be so kind as to bring their belongings to the manor at the top of town? Also, make sure that the manor is set for four guests and myself when we return."

"Of course Hamma." He turned to Isaac and Ivan. "I will also send for a healer to wait at the manor for your wounded friends." Chen responded.

Ivan and Isaac gave Chen their thanks as he took their belongings. After handing over their packs and sleeping bags, Master Hamma, Ivan and Isaac set off to search for Garet and Mia.

* * *

Garet jumped off the ship without giving a second thought. Before he hit the water he took the deepest breath he could. The water was freezing cold. He searched desperately for her underwater, but blue hair and blue robes were very difficult to spot underwater. His eyes saw the silhouette of girl, but she was sinking deeper by the second, he swam over to her with all his might and grabbed her by the hood of her Imilian robes.

As they both resurfaced, Garet was panting loudly. Mia was still unconscious, but at least she was here with him rather than on her way to the bottom of the sea. He made sure she took priority first. He swam over to a piece of floating debris from the wrecked ship and made sure they both were able to float on it. After doing this Garet passed out from the exhaustion of staying up from guard duty that night, the battle with the sea creatures, and swimming his heart out to save Mia. He deserved it.

"…et! …ret! …aret… wake up!... Garet! Wake up!" shouted a familiar voice. Garet's eyes shot open and he immediately started coughing. He sat up and coughed even more. Mia was patting his back while he coughed up the rest of the water from his body.

"There you go.. I was really worried about you for a second!" Mia cried, tears running down her face. She then casted a Pure Ply on Garet. Garet felt his vigor renew and his body was freed from the aches and pains it had just a moment ago.

"Mia… what… happened? Where are we?" Garet said looking around.

"Well…" Mia began, "Firstly I would like to thank you for saving my life… as for what happened, I awoke on the debris you set us both on and I found you passed out from exhaustion. I tried to heal you, but exhaustion isn't something you can just heal through, the body needs time to rest and recover. I guess your grip on the plank slipped when I tried to heal you. I didn't notice at first because I was still drifting in and out of consciousness… and you sank into the sea. It took me a little bit to bring you back up because I was still disoriented and you are much heavier than I am. So I am assuming that you took in a little water into your lungs. I swam as fast as I could to shore on the debris and…" Mia blushed hard, her cheeks were bright red.

"And what?" Garet asked.

"I didn't think I would need to, but… It… It was necessary!" Mia responded as she turned away from Garet.

"What was necessary Mia!? Is there something wrong with me!?" Garet asked desperately.

"No…" Mia took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she said, "_I-was- really-worried-about-you-and-so-I-kinda-sorta-gave-you-mouth-to-mouth-resuscitation_!" After she said this she turned away from Garet again, and her cheeks turned the brightest red Garet had ever seen. She said it so fast Garet barely had time to make out the words, and upon realizing what she said, Garet's cheeks turned almost the same shade of red as Mia's.

He stood up walked over to Mia and gave her a bear hug, picking her up off her feet as he did and kissed her. Not so long as to overdo their first kiss, and not so short as to skip enjoying it. Mia's eyes widened when Garet did this, but after she realized what was happening, she closed them and enjoyed the moment. After their lips separated, they stood there for a long while in each other's arms simply enjoying the moment. Mia's head was nestled into Garet's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

After a short while, Mia finally spoke. She spoke softly as she pulled her head away from Garet's chest and stared into his fiery eyes saying,"You have no idea how long I have been waiting for that," the most sincere smile on Mia's face.

"I figured it would make you feel less awkward," Garet said returning the smile, "but I guess I never thought that you'd feel the same way I did towards you," he said scratching the back of his head. Mia blushed again, but felt that it was okay this time, because they had saved each other's lives, and revealed how they felt about one another. "Well… this is great and all… but uhh, shouldn't we try and find Isaac and Ivan or something?" Garet asked.

Mia's eyes widened again, "Oh! You're right. I completely forgot!" she remarked. "But one more thing before we go.. This moment is too valuable to let it pass by so quickly." Mia went in for another kiss. As they both savored the moment, they would never be able to live it down as they didn't notice who was running toward them…

* * *

Isaac, Ivan, and Master Hamma had been searching for hours before Isaac finally picked up on two people's life forces. Venus Adepts have the ability to sense living things from a distance after all. He also recognized the two life forces, as he had been traveling with them both for so long, he could pick the two out in a large crowd of people with no problems. They both weren't moving, and this concerned Isaac deeply. He hoped there was nothing wrong with them. He broke into a sprint towards the two. As they cleared the last set of trees, and reached where the two were apparently standing, all three of them stopped dead in their tracks and looked upon the two adepts that were holding each other in a deep embrace… kissing?

* * *

Mia and Garet were so distracted with smooching each other that they hadn't heard the footsteps of their friends. They both heard somebody clear their throat rather loudly. They both stopped immediately what they were doing and turned to see Isaac, Ivan, and Master Hamma. Isaac had his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised, and a huge smile across his face. Ivan simply laughed at the two of them. Master Hamma kept her composure, but simply laughed to herself, as she had seen this in her vision as well.

"Oh god…" Garet said while facepalming. "They are never going to let us live this down."

"I am okay with this," she laughed "as long as it means we can be open about it around them. Come on, they're waiting for us!" Mia replied. She grabbed Garet's hand, fingers interlocked, as they ran over to their companions.

"Hey Master Hamma! What are you doing in Atteka?" Garet asked.

"It's nice to see you again Master Hamma! Last time we met it was all too brief." Mia said.

"Hello Garet and Mia." Hamma said smiling at the two of them. "This is actually my place of birth, the town of Contigo is a short distance from here, and I suggest that we head there immediately, I have many important matters to discuss with the four of you." And so the five adepts started making their way back to Contigo. On the way back however, Garet and Mia were made fun of rightfully by Ivan and Isaac. Their faces flushed with red the entire time.

"So were you two like, planning that whole thing out **JUST** so you could get some time alone?!" Isaac teased, a huge grin on his face.

"Honestly, I'm surprised it took you two **this** long.. I've been reading both of your minds for weeks if not months!" Ivan stated while laughing.

"And to think I was incredibly worried about the two of you.. only to find you both kissing!" Isaac said friendly elbowing Garet in the ribs.

"I should've guessed that this would happen judging on both of your reactions when we met in Imil." Ivan stated, recreating the facial expressions when Garet and Mia saw each other for the first time. Finally, both Garet and Mia snapped at their friends.

Garet yelling, "**Shut up Ivan**!" and Mia shouting, "**Be quiet Isaac**! Upon hearing this, Ivan and Isaac just laughed even more. After hearing this, even Master Hamma began to smile and laugh despite her serious mood. Hamma knew there were more serious matters to discuss with the group, but through all the hardship the four young adepts had been through, she thought they deserved to goof off every once in a while.

By the time the five of them had reached Contigo, the sun had started to set. Master Hamma led them to the manor at the top of Contigo. As Chen had promised, the local healer of the town had been waiting for them at the manor. Hamma dismissed him however; as none of them were hurt to the extent that Mia herself could not heal. Hamma led them inside, and the four of them noticed how large the inside of the manor was. It was quite large outside, but it looked even bigger from the outside. The interior was lit with lanterns and candles.

It was quite a nice manor also, the four of them could tell this belonged to somebody who was better off than most. They all went into their rooms to change out of their wet clothes before making their way into the kitchen. A large table sat in the center of the room with five chairs around it. The table was also set for dinner arrangements with plates, eating utensils, and hot food waiting to be served.

"Please, sit and eat your fill. We have much to discuss." Hamma said. The four adepts looked at each other, shrugged and sat down while loading their plates. The four of them were tired, hungry, had barely any money, and lost most of their possessions on the ship. So they were very thankful that fate had smiled upon them after almost killing them. They all intently listened to Master Hamma while they ate; only asking questions until she was finished with her speech.

"Firstly, as I'm sure you are aware; the Jupiter Lighthouse is about half a days travel from Contigo. Tomorrow you must set out for the Lighthouse. My visions about the Lighthouse have been clouded to an extent, so be cautious when you enter and solve its puzzles. You will meet some of the strongest foes in it, so be prepared. Secondly, Ivan… there is no easy way of saying this," she took a deep breath and sighed, "But I am your sister, and Contigo is the town of your birth. In fact, the manor we are in right now used to be the house that our family used to live in."

Upon hearing this Ivan almost choked on what he was eating. "**WHAT!?**" Ivan asked confused and wide-eyed, "No.. your lying. You have to be lying…"

Hamma shook her head and responded, "What would I gain by lying to you? You may read my mind if you wish to confirm that I am telling the truth." Ivan did exactly that. After he did however, he sat in silence, his eyes still wide, and his mouth open as if to speak, but no words came out. "I am sorry I had to keep this from you when we met at Lama Temple, but if I had revealed it to you then, you would have wanted to stay, and been distracted from your quest. Even now I feel I have made a mistake in telling you."

Ivan looked down into his lap for a long time, lost in his own thoughts. He finally spoke after a long awkward silence between the five of them. He took a deep breath before making the most serious face he could and said, "It is okay sister. I knew there was something I recognized about you when we met at Lama Temple. Nevertheless, this will not divert me from what I know I must do. My purpose right now is to help Isaac in whatever way I can on his quest. However, when this is finished, I would like to talk at length with you about my past, as I am quite curious about the place of my birth and how I ended with up with Master Hammet and Lady Layana. They were good to me, but I must find out who my parents were, and what purpose they had in giving me up at such a young age."

At hearing this, Master Hamma smiled. "You have grown so much in so little time Ivan. I am proud to call you my little brother. Once your quest is finished I will wait for you here. We can talk at length about your past once you return. But until then, think of this manor as… a gift. I am usually not here, as I am needed at Lama Temple to instruct my pupils. I would rather see our old home get some use after all."

After she said this her face grew serious once again. "Lastly, in my vision about the Jupiter Lighthouse, there was much conflict and strife. I could not see clearly, but there were several parties in the lighthouse. Naturally, you four are one of the groups. However, there was another group of four, which I assume must be Felix and his companions, and a different group of three whom I cannot identify. There are to be many struggles in the Jupiter Lighthouse on the day you enter it. Also, I heard the clashing of weapons as well as psynergy being cast. I felt the emotions of happiness and sadness, betrayal and determination, anger and deceit. Whatever is to happen on the aerie of the Lighthouse will happen, just promise me that you will all be cautious and well prepared." The four of them nodded at her response.

"Good." Hamma said as she finished her food. "I wish the four of you the best of luck tomorrow. I will take my leave now, as to leave you to discuss amongst yourselves and to let you rest." And with that, she set her plate and eating utensils in the sink and quietly left the manor.

The four of them sat in silence for a good while, each of them lost in thought. Isaac finally spoke after a long silence, "That is a lot to digest… But even so, we must be prepared for our journey to the lighthouse, and making our way to the aerie." He said confidently. "If Felix is there.. and we have to fight him.. don't hold back, any of you." Isaac said disdainfully as he looked at his friends.

"Now hold on." Mia interrupted. "Just because Hamma said there was going to be clashes doesn't mean it will be with his group. If those four are Felix and his companions, one of them will likely be Sheba, and one of them will likely be Jenna. Are you prepared to battle those three Isaac? Despite Felix's position, he was once one of your best friends. You promised Faran that you would protect Sheba. As for Jenna, I know you Isaac… you would never do anything to harm her in any way…" Isaac looked down in his lap for a long while in silence.

"..Isaac?" Mia asked.

Isaac slowly responded, "I… I don't know Mia. If we do meet them in the lighthouse at some point and… I couldn't bring myself to…" Isaac paused. "No.. the mission comes first. I won't kill any of them, but if they get in our way, then we will fight them. Be prepared to leave in the morning tomorrow, I need to go think about what we're gunna do when we get to the Lighthouse…"

With that, Isaac stood up from the kitchen table, left to go to his room, and locked the door behind him. Garet, Ivan and Mia all looked at each other sadly and sat in silence. They knew Isaac was having a hard time with this situation, and they couldn't blame him it.

"He'll lighten up by tomorrow, I know him. He is determined to stop Felix, but he would never lift a sword to any of them. If Isaac wants me to attack Felix, Jenna, or Sheba, I won't do it." Garet finally said. Ivan and Mia nodded in agreement.

"I agree Garet, if he does try to fight, we should stop him. Isaac is usually never like this, but then again, these foes are different.. But I'm sure we can discuss this whole thing as civil human beings." Ivan responded.

"Yes I agree with both of you," Mia added, "But I think we should retire to our rooms for now, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." Ivan and Garet nodded in agreement. They left their plates in the sink just as Hamma had done, and they all went into to their respective rooms. As Mia had said, they had quite the day ahead of them.

* * *

Isaac closed the door and locked it behind him. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep. His mind was going everywhere at once. He lay down on his bed and thought long and hard about the situation at hand. Felix had always been a part of their group back in Vale. Felix, Jenna, Kay, Garet and Isaac always played together when they were little. The five of them were the best of friends back then. They had grown even closer throughout the years before that terrible day of the storm.

For Isaac it was incredibly hard to believe that only three years away from Vale could change Felix from one of his best friends, to one of his greatest foes. Jenna was with him, but from what Isaac heard from people across Weyard, it seemed like Jenna was helping him in his task to destroy the world. Isaac knew Jenna would do anything for her brother, but Jenna would never go so far as to destroy Weyard itself. He closed his eyes and his thoughts drifted to the promise he made to Jenna on her fifteenth birthday…

_A fifteen year old Isaac walked through the town of Vale. He smiled and waved to the people who he passed by while trying to find a particular auburn haired girl whose birthday was today. It had been one year since the storm had hit, but people forget quickly. The four people who had died in the storm that day were four of the most important people not only to Isaac, but to his family and friends as well._

_As he crossed the bridge in the western side of the village, he saw Jenna sitting on the river bank in front of her old, ruined house. He sighed to himself. She had been there almost every day since the day of the storm. She was wading her legs in the river as she stared into water with the gloomiest look on her face Isaac had ever seen. Nobody, especially Jenna, deserved to be that unhappy, especially on her birthday. Jenna didn't notice Isaac approach; she was too distracted with her own thoughts._

_"Hey Jen!" Isaac said smiling. She was startled by this and turned her head quickly to see Isaac standing there. "Whoa sorry, didn't mean to scare you!" He said letting out a small laugh. Upon seeing Isaac, she suppressed her sadness and forced herself to smile as she had always done when her friends were around._

_"Hey Isaac! It's okay, I wasn't expecting anybody to come here of all places." Jenna responded pushing a grin as Isaac sat down next to her._

_"So my mom was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight. It's gunna be really good! There will be cake and Garet and Kay are also gunna be there." Isaac said._

_"Cake? Something special must be going on for your mom to be making that. What's the occasion?" Jenna asked._

_Isaac lifted an eyebrow and stared at her in disbelief saying, "Jenna… did you really forget what today is..?"_

_Jenna pondered about it for a couple seconds before shaking her head. "I Guess so… Umm… what is today?" She asked confused._

_Isaac took a deep breath before responding. "Jenna… today is your birthday…" Her eyes widened upon hearing this. "I told my mom that today was your fifteenth birthday, so I asked her if we could have you, Garet and Kay over for dinner to celebrate." Isaac said scratching the back of his head._

_Jenna couldn't believe it. She really **had** forgotten her own birthday. She was so busy with her grief that she had completely overlooked it. She felt so.. alone since her family had been taken from her. Nobody cared about little Jenna, the child who was left by herself after that awful day. But then it dawned on her that while she had forgotten her own birthday and wallowed in her own self-pity Isaac went out of his way to remember that today was her special day. He was always there for her when she got hurt or was sad, and helped her through the last year which had been rough. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She broke into a sob and sunk her head into Isaac's chest while wrapping her arms around him._

_This took Isaac by complete surprise. At that moment, he understood. He understood why she had forgotten about her own birthday. He understood why she kept coming back here day after day. He understood the pain she felt. He had lost his father in the same storm after all, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Jenna's situation. He didn't know what to do. Jenna was just fine a moment ago, and now here she was, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. He did the only thing he felt was right at that point. He wrapped his arms around her as she had done, and held her as tight as he could. Isaac felt tears streaming down his own cheeks as he held Jenna in his arms. Here she was, the person he cared about so much.. but to see her in such a state killed him on the inside. They continued to embrace each other for a long time. Jenna finally calmed down and stopped crying after what seemed like an eternity for Isaac._

_"Jenna… I can't even begin to imagine what the last year has been like for you. You lost your entire family while I only lost my father. But I promise: I'll be there for you, when you walk through the fire. I'll be there for you, when the flames get higher. When nothing fits, and nothing seems right, until the very last breath of my life, I'll be there for you.." Isaac said quietly into her ear. Jenna took her head away from his chest and looked into his eyes. She smiled the largest, most sincere smile at Isaac. Isaac hadn't seen her smile like that since the days Felix and her parents were still around. Then Jenna closed her eyes and moved her lips closer to his. Both of them shared their very first kiss on that day._

_Later that night, after they had eaten and Garet and Kay had gone home, Jenna and Isaac got the ladder from Dora, and went onto the roof to watch the stars. They both lay on their backs gazing at the night sky hand in hand with their fingers interlocked._

_"I hope you're not mad at me Jenna, but I totally forgot to get you a present." Isaac said disappointed. Jenna simply smiled, and snuggled up to him._

_"It's okay. You gave me the best present anyone could have ever given me." She replied. Isaac scratched his head, clearly confused. Jenna laughed to herself and said, "You gave me a promise, my first kiss, you allowed me to smile again, and you were.. there for me." They kissed once again before falling silent and watching the sky for an hour or so. They decided to head back inside Isaac's house after a while, and sat near the fireplace._

_They were cuddled together, but Jenna fell asleep after a short time, and Isaac noticed this. He carefully picked her up so as to not wake her up, and made his way cautiously up the stairs. He set her in his own bed, tucked her into the covers, and kissed her forehead saying, "Goodnight Jenna" before grabbing his sleeping bag, rolling it on the floor next to the bed and falling asleep himself._ After he reminisced that day, he drifted to sleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

When Ivan returned to his room he pondered about his past. This was the town he had been born in? Why had Master Hamma not told him anything earlier? Where were his real parents? He had so many questions to ask her, but he could not. He had promised Hamma he would finish his quest before any family business or questions about his heritage. He wondered what Isaac was doing in his room. He was worried about him. Isaac, Garet and Mia were the first real friends he had ever met. When he traveled with Hammet, he tried to make friends everywhere he went. But no one accepted him. Everyone who met him was freaked out by his strange powers.

He was happy he had finally made friends, adepts nonetheless, who accepted him for who he was. He laughed to himself as he recalled the day's events involving Garet and Mia. He had known for so long that the two had romantic feelings towards each other. He was happy for the both of them that they had finally found out on their own accord. He read minds whenever he was sure somebody was hiding something whether or not it was good or bad. Despite adepts being able to detect psynergy in use, he had become so sly about reading minds; he could do it without anyone noticing. He was proud of himself that he was able to conceal his ability from other adepts, especially those as powerful as Isaac, Garet and Mia.

Sometimes he wished he didn't have the ability. It was both a blessing and a curse at times. But it was one of the qualities which made him… well him. He went over to his desk and picked up the encyclopedia and put a candle next to it so he could see. He skimmed through it, adding a sentence every page or so, and touching up on some drawings he had done hastily. When he was satisfied with the changes he had made he set the book back down on the desk and blew out the candle.

He yawned and lay back down on the bed. His final thoughts that night consisted of the relationships he saw around him and heard about. He knew about Isaac and Jenna from reading his thoughts, and the way he talked about her. Garet and Mia had just essentially been made a couple today.. but what about himself? Would he ever find anyone for himself like those two couples? Those were the last words he said to himself in his mind before he lost consciousness and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Garet was laying on his bed with his hands behind his head whistling Valean tunes to himself quietly. He had been there about an hour before he heard someone lightly knock on the door three times. "Come in." he said. The door opened to reveal Mia holding a candle. She walked in, and closed the door behind her. But when she walked in she had a distraught look on her face. "You couldn't sleep either huh?" Garet asked sitting up.

Mia shook her head, "Too much to think about, you know how I always get before we go into lighthouses."

"Yeah I do. We'll be fine though. We made it up the last two lighthouses just fine." Garet responded. Mia sat down on the bed next to Garet, putting the candle on the nightstand.

"I know.. but what Master Hamma said still has me a little concerned. Master Hamma's visions are never wrong." Mia said.

"That's true. But it's not like Saturos and Menardi are here to hinder us anymore." Garet responded.

"Don't remind me of those two… even though they attempted to take our lives, we shouldn't have taken theirs. As a healer of the Mercury Clan I am obligated to help any person in need whether it be friend or foe." Mia said with a sad look on her face.

"Hey, it's not our fault they fell into the well of the lighthouse. And if we didn't defend ourselves we would have died for sure! Who knew that those two had such an enormous amount of power to fuse into a dragon like that." Garet returned. Mia didn't respond but took one of the pillows from Garet's bed and smacked him over the head with it and laughed.

"Hey!" Garet said laughing as he tried to defend himself from her onslaught to no avail. Mia was ruthless with the pillow she attacked high and low. Garet tried to guard himself, but it was futile. Both of them were laughing the entire time. After several hits from the pillow he finally managed to disarm Mia. They struggled and wrestled for a short time.

During the time this was happening, Garet heard Mia laugh while saying, "Shhhh be quiet Garet! You're going to wake up Ivan and Isaac!"

"Hey you're the one who started it!" he responded laughing as well. Garet managed to pin her arms to the bed. "Hah! What are you gunna do now!?" Garet said in triumph, his face right above hers. She responded by moving her head up and kissing him. They both closed their eyes and Mia felt the grip on her arms loosen. In mere seconds, Mia had flipped Garet over, and now she had his arms pinned to the bed.

"I win!" Mia said victoriously. Garet opened his mouth to speak, but Mia put her hand over his mouth and said, "I told you to be quiet! You'll wake the others!"

Garet sighed to himself. "_Dat's no fair! Dat distwaction was too purfect!_" Garet said, his voice muffled by Mia's hand.

"Who said we were playing fair?" Mia said slyly. She moved off of him and lay in the bed next to him. Without another word the two of them looked at each other and continued to kiss each other, their tongues exploring each other's mouths. When their lips finally separated, Garet turned and blew out the candles on the nightstand. They cuddled next to each other, a wide smile on both of their faces as they drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

* * *

**NOTES: Thanks for reading!**

**As I said before, I apologize for the long chapters. If I have lost you already, I hope that you give my story a chance by reading at least the first four chapters. I know it starts off slow, but it gets better the further you read into it. **

**Yes, steamshipping. I was thinking of pairing Isaac and Mia but decided against it. I like the pairing of Jenna and Isaac better. (Mudshippers don't bash me too hard.) As said before, leave me reviews (if you feel like it) about the story. I love getting feedback from fellow Golden Sun fans whether it be positive or negative. Also as i said before ill try to update this as fast and as much as possible.**


	2. The Jupiter Lighthouse

**Second chapter, hope you enjoy it! This chapter switches perspectives a lot, so bear with me. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Golden Sun or anything to do with it, that belongs to Nintendo and Camelot. I just like writing stories about it.**

* * *

As the four of them had expected, the journey took them half a day from Contigo. The entire journey was walked in complete silence. Isaac led them as he had always done, his confident stature back thanks to Garet. Ivan was behind him, going through his backpack half the time seemingly looking for something; or rather just keeping himself busy. Garet and Mia followed behind them, their arms interlocked most of the time. Each of them absent in their own thoughts not only about last night, but for the day ahead as well. They had left early in the morning as the sun had started to rise. The walk to the Lighthouse was a rather calm one, despite all the events that had transpired yesterday for them; no monsters attacked them, and the morning air was crisp and cold. However, it wasn't an awkward silence. The four of them enjoyed it. Most of their journey had been loud, dangerous, and obnoxious at times. It was a nice change of pace for them. It was nearing noon when the four adepts finally reached the base of the Lighthouse.

They agreed to take a break before they headed inside. Rather to face unknown enemies and the treacherous climb with energy than without. The four of them sat at the base of the lighthouse eating a light lunch. Although they needed energy for the trials to come, having too full a stomach was dangerous. Garet learned that lesson the hard way many times when monsters caught the group by surprise and he got cramps while battling. Isaac was the one to first to speak while they were eating.

"Remember what Master Hamma said, let's be careful, but keep in mind we have to get through the Lighthouse quickly if we hope to stop Felix from igniting the beacon." He said while finishing a piece of fruit he retrieved from his backpack. They all nodded in response.

"Does everyone have at least a couple of Psy Crystals? I have some extra if you need them." Ivan asked, popping the last bit of jerky into his mouth.

"I'm good." Garet responded finishing the last of his mutton.

"Me too." Isaac said

"I'll take a couple if you don't mind Ivan, I used my last one a while ago." Mia replied. Ivan nodded in response and handed her three yellow, star shaped crystals. Mia thanked him and slipped the crystals into her pack while she finished the rest of a salad she had made before they left.

"Alright, if everyone's finished eating, then let's get going." Isaac said. They all nodded in response and walked toward the entrance of the Lighthouse. None of them were expecting what was to happen in the Jupiter Lighthouse on this day.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the depths of the massive purple structure, Felix and his party were busy solving the puzzles of the Jupiter Lighthouse. They had already reached the aerie of the lighthouse, only to find it covered by a massive stone block. Two statues of Angels of Jupiter held each side of the block. The stone block covering the well of the lighthouse was immovable for them. They concluded the only way to move the block was with some sort of psynergy, so they passed into the left side of the Jupiter Lighthouse.

They made their way into the western side of the Lighthouse and entered a room with runes, ley lines, and a large structure in the middle of it. In front of the large structure in the middle of the room was a tall pillar with a ladder on it. Four white hover platforms were crowded around the pillar in equal spacing on the ground. Statues of Jupiter's Angels adorned each side of the room.

A depression was carved into the ledge they were standing on, so the five of them slid down it carefully. As they approached the pillar a deep unknown voice sounded and echoed throughout the chamber.

"**Holder of the Jupiter Star! Display the power of the Anemos if you wish to awaken the power sealed away within this Lighthouse!"** The five of them jumped at hearing this voice. They looked around the room.

"Wh.. Who said that?" Jenna asked trembling.

"I.. I don't know Jenna. But whatever who or it was, it knows about the Jupiter Star… and I don't know if I like that." Felix responded.

"But it just told us what to do. If anything it helped us." Sheba added.

"I agree with Sheba. However ominous that voice sounded, if it wanted to stop us, it had plenty of opportunities to a while ago." Kraden said.

Piers nodded and said, "The power it's talking about must be the Hover psynergy that Sheba learned not to long ago."

"Hmm.. you're probably right Piers. Sheba, could you go up there and use your Hover psynergy and see what happens?"

Sheba nodded in response, "Of course," as she stepped over to the ladder.

Felix stopped her, "Wait, take the Jupiter Star as well," he said pushing the purple spherical jewel into her hand. She nodded and started to climb the ladder. The four of them watched in anticipation as she reached the top of the pillar.

Sheba took a deep breath and focused. "Hover!" she yelled. Sheba glowed purple for an instant, and then psynergetic rings of all colors surrounded her feet. The whole lighthouse seemed to shake at the events occurring in the room. Felix, Jenna, Kraden and Piers looked around nervously. Her aura flashed between the colors white, purple, and transparent; multi-colored orbs of pure psynergy poured out of her, and started to fill into the hole of the giant structure in the middle of the room. A blinding pillar of light sprung from the hole in the structure. All of them shielded their eyes from it.

When all was said and done, all the ley lines and runes in the room had changed. They were no longer empty and plain, but glowed a deep, pulsating purple. The structure in the center of the room kept a purple glow, even though the pillar of light had vanished. The white hover platforms that were once on the ground floated in the air. Directly underneath them, purple hover rune circles could be seen. The four of them decided that this room must be an activation post for the remainder of the lighthouse.

"Good work Sheba!" Felix called to her from below. Sheba nodded and tossed the Jupiter Star back to Felix before she hopped over to the now accessible ledge from the white hover platforms, and the other four climbed up the ladder onto the pillar and followed behind her.

* * *

Isaac and his company had found most of the puzzles of the Lighthouse to be solved. Isaac scowled in disappointment. _Damn! How could Felix have possibly beat us here!_ He thought to himself.

At that moment, the entire Lighthouse began to shake. The four of them stopped immediately, all of them wide-eyed and looking for something to grab on to.

When the shaking subsided, Garet asked, "Everyone alright?" They all nodded.

"What was that?" Mia asked.

"That could have been a puzzle Felix just solved, or it could have been the beacon." Ivan responded.

"Whatever it was, we better hurry up. Felix is well ahead of us." Isaac remarked. They all nodded and took off at a running pace to try and catch up to Felix and his group.

* * *

Felix and his group continued forward. Much Jupiter psynergy was needed to continue into the lighthouse, so Felix let Sheba lead the group. Felix simply suggested which way they go. They had picked up a Red Key along the way which allowed for access to the West Tower of the Jupiter Lighthouse. Sheba slipped the key into the lock of the red door, and it jetted back into the wall almost instantly. They continued through a door that led to an outside portion of the lighthouse.

A bridge led to a tall tower connected to the side of the lighthouse. The five of them continued across the bridge that connected the lighthouse to the West Tower. A giant stone statue of the head of a Jupiter's Angel greeted them as they walked by. However, as Piers walked by it, it shot out a gust a wind. Piers screamed in surprise, which made the others turn around. They saw him fly through the air spinning back towards where they came from. He was blasted all the way back across the bridge, to the door of which they came through. The other four ran over to him.

"Are you okay Piers?" Jenna asked laughing.

"I am fine... However I am quite dizzy." Piers responded, while rubbing the back of his head. Sheba was too busy laughing to ask if he was okay.

Felix offered him a hand and helped him up, laughing while he did so. "Let's try to not get blown away by the statue this time." Felix said patting Piers on the back.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry for the delay!" Piers responded, clearly un-amused with all the laughter aimed in his direction.

"It's quite alright Piers, just making sure that you are okay." Kraden said letting out a small chuckle himself.

The five of them continued into the Western Tower, avoiding the gust of wind this time. A statue of an archer greeted them as they walked into the first door of the tower.

"Such elegant masonry work here. Can you imagine the work that must have gone on to build these lighthouses and the things that ornament them?" Kraden claimed as they walked by.

"The statues are indeed very pretty. They fit very nicely here with the element of Jupiter. They are sculptures of Jupiter's Angels and Archers after all," Sheba responded.

The rest of them nodded in agreement. They walked through another door into a hallway.

"Look! A treasure chest!" Jenna exclaimed as she ran over to it. She attempted to open it, but to no avail. "Stupid thing! It's stuck! Felix, Piers, see if you can get this thing open," Jenna continued.

Felix and Piers both tried their hardest to open the lid of the chest, but it was no use. It wouldn't even budge. Out of frustration, Felix kicked the chest, and it opened. However, the chest roared when it opened and leaped to attack Felix.

"**MIMIC**!" Felix shouted as he dove out the way to avoid being bitten. Jenna quickly drew her staff and used it to channel a Serpent Fume. The fume surged forward with blinding speed and the attack collided with the Mimic. It retreated back while screeching in pain. Felix rolled into a battle stance and unleashed his Djinni, Petra. Yellow-green fumes surrounded the Mimic, and it froze in place completely. While the Mimic was petrified, Sheba saw Piers about to attack, so she casted Impact on him. Piers felt strength flow through his body, and casted Diamond Berg on the Mimic. The Mimic was helpless and could only watch, as its body was completely petrified from Felix's Djinni. A massive dome of ice fell onto the Mimic, and Piers sliced through layer after layer of ice finally dealing a devastating blow to the Mimic when no layers remained.

The Mimic was furious when it finally gained mobility back. Before anyone else could act, it cast Ice Missile aimed at Felix, Sheba, and Jenna. Felix was standing in the center of them and took the full force of the attack, while Sheba and Jenna were still hit, but not as hard as Felix. Shards of razor sharp ice cut into the three of them. Blood started to come out of the fresh cuts from the razor ice, which made the three of them stagger and kneel over in pain. The Mimic took no time in rushing to attack Sheba right after it casted the spell. Sheba closed her eyes and screamed as she braced for a head on attack.

While this was happening, Piers unleashed his Djinni, Shade, on the party before the Mimic reached them. When the Mimic was about an arm's length from Sheba it hit an invisible barrier and bounced back several yards. The Mimic was clearly confused at why its attack did not land. Jenna finally regained her composure and casted a Cool Aura on herself and her allies. The healing powers of fire were just as effective as if a Mercury Adept had casted a Pure Wish spell. Their wounds sealed up and adrenaline pumped through their bodies. Sheba instantly retaliated when she was healed. A look of pure hatred on her face, Sheba cast the most powerful spell she knew at that point, Shine Plasma. As three purple bolts of pure Jupiter Psynergy struck the Mimic, it stopped moving, and fell over. It disintegrated from the heat of the lightning, as Sheba had poured a lot of power into the attack. A simple yellow star shaped crystal sat where the Mimic was felled.

"Well, I think we know who deserves this," Felix said as he picked it up and tossed it to Sheba.

Sheba responded with, "Hmph… Thank you" as she caught it and placed it in her bag.

They continued up the Western Tower, grabbing a Blue Key on their way up and being wary of the treasure chests they came across. No more of the chests were Mimics much to their liking. However, more hovering puzzles awaited them, much to their irritation.

After clearing a room filled with broken floor tiles, the five of them came to the top of the Western Tower of the lighthouse. There was a ley line leading to the statue of an Archer of Jupiter. However, the ley line was broken in one part. A large pillar stood a good distance away from a square shaped hole in the floor where the ley line was broken. Piers and Felix nodded to each other and pushed the heavy pillar into the hole, completing the ley line.

Upon the completion of the ley line, the statue of the archer glowed purple for an instant. A golden arrow formed in its bow, and shot toward the aerie of the lighthouse. The arrow collided with a statue of an Angel of Jupiter. The Angel glowed purple for a moment, and then slowly began to rise and halted after climbing about thirty feet. However, the other Angel statue merely remained where it was. This left the giant stone blocking the well of the lighthouse at a very awkward angle. All of them watched his happen, and all of them let out a long drawn out sigh. They all knew what had to be done. They would have to do the same thing to the other statue on the eastern side of the lighthouse. So they made their way back down the Western Tower, and started to make their way to the Eastern Tower.

When they made their way back to the main room of the lighthouse, Sheba led them up the east side with Cyclone. Upon going up the Eastern Side of the lighthouse, they noticed three things. The bridge connecting the main part of the lighthouse and the Eastern Tower was destroyed. It was as if something had struck the bridge and it collapsed in one area. There was a rope on the Eastern Tower part of the bridge; Sheba could connect that easy enough with Lash if they could get over there. However, in front of them there was another square shaped hole in the floor, and a pillar with a very large rod sticking straight up out of it.

Piers and Felix again moved the pillar into the square… but nothing happened. The others stood back confused while Felix went to go take a closer look at the rod, and knelt down next to it. _Hmm. Well what should we-_**BZZZT.** Felix's thought was cut short. A bolt of lightning came down and struck the rod right in front of him, lighting up a ley line that led to the upper portion of the lighthouse where the bridge was separated. This activated a hover circle rune up above them.

He leapt back in shock and in fear his heart pounding in his chest. He slammed his back to the wall of the lighthouse, gripping his shirt where his heart was until his knuckles were white. He had the look of pure terror in his face, his eyes wide in surprise. Now it was Felix's turn to be laughed at. Jenna was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed pointing and laughing at her brother.

"I-_ahah_ haven't-_hahaha_ seen you that scared-_hahaha _since mom found out-_ahhahah_ you lied about going-_ahahah_ into that cave with Isaac!" Jenna cried in laughter. Sheba found it funny, but with Jenna laughing **that **hard, it simply made her laugh even harder. Piers chuckled to himself one hand on his stomach, the other patting Felix on the back.

Kraden was laughing as well, and said, "Well that was a close one wasn't it now Felix!?" Felix was still trembling as he nodded. He laughed at himself, he could only imagine the look on his face. _If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? _He thought.

They made their way back into the main room of the lighthouse, this time, using Hover and going into the beam that shot up the center of the lighthouse. Making their way towards the East Tower, they encountered a blue door that was locked. Again, Sheba pulled out the key and twisted it in the lock. Just as the other door had done, it jetted into the wall almost instantly. They went through a door, and came out to the broken bridge leading to the East Tower. They found the hover circle rune that had been activated earlier. Sheba signaled for everyone to grab hands, and casted Hover on the circle. They floated up, right next to the mouth of a statue of an Angel of Jupiter. All of them looked at it directly in the face.

"Oh no, not again…" Piers said. Right after Piers had said this; the statue blew a gust of wind out of its mouth, taking all five of them with it. With all of them screaming, they eventually hit the side of the Eastern Tower, they fell to the ground and sat there for a while. All of them disoriented from the spinning.

"This is getting rather old very quickly." Piers remarked as he finally stood up.

"I agree Piers, we better be close to that other damn archer." Jenna responded.

"Oh come now, it's not that bad everyone." Sheba said

"Well that's easy for you to say… seeing as how you are a Jupiter Adept and all." Felix retorted.

"**AHEM!** If you're all done bickering, we have an archer to activate!" Kraden said as he stood up and smoothed his robes. They all nodded and continued into the Eastern Tower. They entered a room with more broken ley lines and hover circle runes.

"Oh boy! More of these damned things." Sheba said sarcastically.

Her mood lightened when she saw a Jupiter Djinni on the ledge that was cut off from the main path.

"Look! A Djinni!" Sheba remarked as she pointed to it. They wasted no time in solving the puzzle to obtain it. When they reached it and tried to capture it, the Djinni became infuriated and attacked them.

The Jupiter Djinni was extremely fast. It took the first action in casting Shine Plasma on the four adepts before any of them could react. The four adepts took the hit fine, and counter-attacked right after. Sheba casted Bind, and in a moment, the Jupiter Djinni's psynergy was sealed. The Djinni tried to cast Shine Plasma again, but its psynergy had been blocked. While Sheba was casting Bind, Jenna figured she would heal the damage it did to them with a Cool Aura, and so she did. Felix and Piers did something they had never done before. Felix managed to flank the Djinni on the right side, while Piers flanked on the left. Both of them casted their respective psynergies, Odyssey and Diamond Berg. A massive dome of ice trapped the Jupiter Djinni, while at the same time, two ethereal blue swords pierced through the ice and the Djinni. Piers started slicing away at the dome with his broadsword, and when he finally broke through all the layers of ice and struck the Djinni, he saw a massive sword come through the other side, shattering the smaller swords as it did, and impact the Djinni. He was confused until he saw Felix on the other side. This felled the Djinni quickly and efficiently.

As the Djinni collapsed into a gust of wind and set itself to Sheba, Piers and Felix looked at each other and both said, "Nice combo!"

"This Djinni's name is Whorl. He says he deals an attack that may also instantly kill monsters!" Sheba said as she communicated with the Djinni telepathically.

"That seems quite useful." Piers remarked.

"Come on, let's keep moving." Felix said. They all nodded and continued on into the Eastern Tower. They encountered the hardest Hover puzzles they had seen in the whole lighthouse in the Eastern Tower. They had to move and reset white hover platforms in order to reach treasure chests they were to curious to pass up. Sometimes they misplaced a white hover platform, and had to reset the puzzle time and time again.

Eventually they stumbled into a room filled with nothing except Hover circle runes on the floor. At the very edges of the room, the tile was cracked. Not only this, but two Angel of Jupiter statues adorned the left and right sides of the chamber, and threatened to blow the group onto the cracked tile floors to fall onto the floor below. In a chest in this room they found a new short blade for Jenna, Phaeton's Blade. However, after obtaining that sword from the chest in the room, Jenna timed one of her steps wrong and was blown away by one of the statues.

They were all holding hands in order to maintain the psynergy for all of them to hover. So she dragged the others along with her. They hit the wall, and the Hover Psynergy faded. They then fell onto the cracked floor tiles, which broke under their weight, and fell down to the floor below; all of them screaming while falling. When they finally hit the ground, they all had to recover for a few minutes, as the fall was quite a ways down.

"Sorry, I'll try not to do that again." Jenna said hanging her head in disappointment. Felix put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an empathetic look and a small smile. She smiled back.

"It's okay Jenna, but try and keep up this time!" Sheba said playfully. They made their way back into the same room, but this time went to the left side of the room, and found a staircase leading up. They walked up the staircase, and found that it was the top of the Eastern Tower. Their faces gleamed with happiness at being done with all the puzzles of the lighthouse. Felix and Piers quickly moved the pillar into the square hole, and watched the ley line complete itself.

The eastern archer mirrored the western archer, as it glowed purple and shot a golden arrow which hit the other statue of the Angel of Jupiter. It shined purple and made its ascent into the air, stopping in the same place as the western Angel statue. The well of the lighthouse was now open. They all let out a small cheer and started their descent back down the Eastern Tower in high spirits. They made their way back into the main body of the lighthouse where chains hung freely from the ceiling. Sheba casted Whirlwind on the chain and one by one they swung across the gap that otherwise would have been unavoidable. When they exited a door that led to the lower outside balcony of the lighthouse, none of them were expecting what they were about to hear and see…

* * *

Isaac and his companions had made their way through the middle section of the Jupiter Lighthouse. They had noticed all of the puzzles had been solved wherever they went, and were desperately trying to catch up to Felix. They had just been through the room with all countless pillars jetting out of the floor. When they exited a door from this room, they found themselves on the high outside balcony of the lighthouse. Isaac looked around the balcony and out towards the Western Tower.

"We can take a little break; we've been running for quite a while now." Isaac said. The group nodded. Isaac and Ivan walked over to the edge of the balcony pointing out areas and discussing amongst themselves on where to go next. Mia sat on the grey slabs that formed the bridge of the balcony. She was swinging her legs freely off the bridge. Garet stood next to her crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of the lighthouse. However, he was not standing on the bridge. They both gazed out at the landscape of Atekka. It was a beautiful landscape, as the sun had started to set behind the mountains. Vibrant shades of afternoon yellows, reds, and oranges filled the sky.

"This view is great. Wish we could stay and enjoy the view for a while." Garet said.

"I agree, it's moments like these that make life worth-**AHHHHH!**" Mia was interrupted by the floor beneath her disappearing.

"**MIA**!" Garet screamed as he jumped after her.

Isaac and Ivan both heard Mia scream, turned around, and watched in shock as two of their best friends fell for a second time out of their sight.

* * *

Two figures silently followed Isaac out onto the balcony of the lighthouse. Isaac and his company had not noticed however, they were much to distracted with their quest of stopping Felix from igniting the Jupiter Beacon. They saw that the group of four split. Isaac and Ivan were looking out westward discussing something. Mia was sitting on the bridge, with Garet next to her.

"Now's our chance." A sleek, cunning, red haired figure whispered. A tall, muscular white haired figure nodded back at her. They quietly stepped out onto the balcony that Isaac and his companions were on, and a black, thigh-high boot stepped on the switch on the balcony of the lighthouse. Both figures smiled a malevolent smile as they saw a certain blue haired girl fall, and a certain red haired boy jump in after her.

"It's almost too perfect." Agatio said, as he and Karst started walking toward Isaac and Ivan.

* * *

Isaac and Ivan ran over to the ledge as fast as they could and looked down. "Mia! Garet! Don't worry, everything is gunna be fine!" Isaac shouted.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I'm more worried about Garet!" Mia responded as she gripped his arm with both of hers.

"Garet, why are you only holding onto the ledge with one arm?" Ivan shouted down at him.

"I landed on my arm when I fell, I can't feel it at all! I think it's broken!" Garet responded. Mia was trying her hardest to pull Garet up off the ledge, but she was unsuccessful even when using all of her strength. She shook her head in defeat, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"It's no use, I'm not strong enough to pull up Garet by myself! Isaac! You have to get down here and help pull Garet up!" Mia yelled back up to Isaac and Ivan.

"Oh Garet… you shouldn't have jumped in after me when I fell…" Mia said with a distressed face.

"Come on Mia, I wasn't about to just let you fall…" Garet responded. Isaac and Ivan turned to each other and disappeared over the edge.

"This is bad." Isaac said to Ivan.

"We gotta get down there quick!" Ivan responded. Their heads poked out from over the ledge again.

"Don't worry, we'll be right down to help you!" Isaac responded.

"No actually, I'm afraid you won't be helping your friends…" an unknown female voice said from behind them.

* * *

"**AHHHHH!"** a young girl screamed.

**"MIA!" **another voice yelled. Felix and his company looked at each other, all with looks of confusion written across their face.

"That sounded an awful lot like Garet!" Jenna exclaimed.

"That must be Isaac and his friends!" Kraden said. Felix had a distressed look on his face.

"Isaac… if I recall he is your friend, is he not Felix?" Piers asked.

Felix nodded, "He is, although what we are trying to accomplish, he is trying to prevent."

"That sounded like a cry for help though, if they are in trouble, we have to go help them!" Sheba said.

"I agree, we have to help Isaac, Garet and his friends!" Jenna responded. None of them noticed Felix bolting toward the middle of the balcony. _I don't care if they are trying to stop me or not… Isaac and Garet were once two of my best friends… they probably still are. _Felix thought to himself as he ran to the middle of the balcony and looked up.

The rest of them followed Felix to the center of the balcony and looked up as well. What they saw alarmed them. Garet was hanging off the edge of a platform with one arm. His other arm was limp at his side. Mia was trying to pull him up onto the platform, but she couldn't do it. It seemed she wasn't strong enough. Ivan and Isaac were on the ledge above them looking down assessing the situation. They disappeared quickly, and poked their heads over the ledge again. They exchanged a few words with Garet and Mia. Isaac and Ivan vanished over the ledge again, but this time didn't return to sight.

The five of them heard words exchanged between what seemed like four people. Then they all jumped in surprise as they heard various schools of psynergy being cast, and steel clashing with steel. All of their eyes widened, they realized why there were sounds of combat.

"Agatio and Karst are attacking Isaac and Ivan!" Kraden shouted.

"I don't think they'll be able to handle them without Mia and Garet's help!" Sheba said in desperation.

Anger crossed Piers's face, "I am sick that Karst would set a trap for them! That is incredibly treacherous!" he said.

"Garet might lose his grip while they are fighting! We gotta go help them!" Jenna exclaimed.

They sprinted as fast as they could to Isaac and his allies. However, in the rush and worry present in all of their minds, they had forgotten which way to go. _Hold on Isaac, we're coming!_ Felix thought as he led his group forward.

* * *

"Who are you?" Ivan asked.

"Me? Why my name is Karst." She responded, still walking over to their location.

"And I am Agatio." said the tall, muscular Proxian, as he followed her.

_Something about these two seems very familiar. _Isaac thought to himself.

"Get out of my way! My friends are in trouble!" Isaac said with a scowl.

"Not as much trouble as you are about to be in. You have done me a great wrong, and now you will pay the price!" Karst remarked as she stopped in front of Ivan and Isaac.

"What are you talking about? We've never even seen you before!" Ivan said.

"Oh? But do you not see the resemblance? Think carefully…" Agatio said. Then it clicked for both Ivan and Isaac at the same time.

They both looked at each other and said, "Menardi!" in unison.

"Very perceptive! I'm quite fond of clever boys," Karst said with a smile. Her smile vanished just as quickly as it came, "Saturos and Menardi - **my sister** - hail from the same Fire Clan, located in the frozen wastes of Prox to the far north!"

"Prox? Ive never heard of any place called Prox." Ivan responded.

"And that is exactly the problem. Our town is on the verge of extinction, and the seal on Alchemy is responsible!" Agatio said.

"Once the seal on Alchemy is broken, Prox will bring Weyard to its knees for not heeding our warning and letting us suffer for so long." Karst added.

"And you think we'll just stand by after hearing you say that? Alchemy will never be unleashed as long as we stand!" Isaac retorted.

Karst and Agatio smiled. "We were hoping you would say that!" Agatio exclaimed.

Isaac's face turned into a glare, "And Felix was trying to **help **you?!" he shouted

Both Karst and Agatio shrugged, "We don't know what Felix's motives are, but as long as he is free to ignite the beacons without your interference, we don't really care what he does." Agatio said.

"We are here to stop Felix! Get out of our way or we will move you ourselves!" Ivan responded, a glare forming on his face as well.

Karst smiled, "Such big words coming from such a small boy! Are you so absorbed in your mission that you have already forgotten about your friends?"

Ivan and Isaac frowned at each other and looked back over the ledge at Mia and Garet. They looked back at Karst and Agatio.

"So this was all a part of your plan then? To trap our two friends and fight us unfairly?" Isaac asked.

"Actually, we only hoped to snare one of you with that trap, snaring two adepts down there **was indeed** an added bonus!" Agatio said laughing.

"A dirty trick you cowards! You would fight us dishonorably?" Ivan responded.

"Please! You would not be complaining if you had the leisure of fighting us four on two!" Karst remarked.

"Even so, we are not afraid to fight you fairly, two on two!" Ivan responded.

"Ahh but you are not the only one with a Mercury Adept! Alex! Show yourself!" Karst exclaimed. Upon hearing that name, Ivan and Isaac scowled even more, and became even angrier.

"Where is Alex!?" Karst yelled angrily, while looking around for the Mercury adept.

"Who cares! I knew we could never trust him in the first place! Let's just deal with them quickly, they will be no match for us!" Agatio responded. "If you really **are **the warriors who managed to kill both Saturos and Menardi, consider us your enemies as well!" He said boldly.

Karst smiled upon hearing this, "Hmm, you are right Agatio. I have waited long enough for this! Prepare to die! Both of you!"

Upon that sentence ending, Karst drew the scythe from her back. Ivan drew the Swift Sword strapped to his belt, (as he had lost his staff with the ship). Isaac unsheathed the Gaia Blade, and Agatio clanged his bracers together several times. They all took fighting stances, and the battle between good and evil had begun…

* * *

On the platform below, Mia was still trying to pull Garet up off of the edge. She had tears running down her face, despite how much she wanted to save Garet, she knew she couldn't. Her body was just not physically able to muster enough strength to pull up all of Garet's weight. "I'm sorry Garet… I'm just not tough enough!"

"Don't worry about it Mia, my grip is strong enough so that I won't fall.. but my arm is killing me. Where are Isaac and Ivan!?" Garet responded.

"I.. I don't know, they said they would be down here quickly!" Mia said. At that moment, both of them heard combat psynergy, and blades being crossed. Both Mia and Garet's faces flashed with distress for their friends. At that moment, vast amounts of adrenaline surged through Mia's body from knowing that her best friends were in danger, and her boyfriend could very well fall to his death.

She grabbed Garet's forearm with both hands once again, tugged with all her might, and slowly but surely raised him up onto the platform. When Garet rolled onto the platform Mia collapsed back in exhaustion, and Garet lay next to her. Mia managed to find the willpower to sit back up and cast a Pure Ply on his broken arm. Garet felt the bones that were previously broken snap back into place, and he moved it around to make sure he had full control over it again.

"Thank you for saving me Mia..." She fell into his arms as she was exhausted from pulling Garet up, and using her last remaining energy to heal him.

"It's only fair… you saved me yesterday." She whispered with a smile, and closed her eyes.

"Our friends are in trouble, but we have no way of getting back up to the balcony. All we can do is sit here and rest, but you really need to take it easy Mia… you spent a lot of energy pulling me back up here and healing my arm. Isaac and Ivan could be really hurt, and you're the one who will need to tend to them." Garet said.

The sounds of combat above them were getting more and more intense. He heard people cry out in pain every now and then, and he could tell a few of the cries belonged to Ivan and Isaac. Mia brought her hands to her ears to block out the sounds of conflict. A look of desperation crossed her face, but she simply buried her face in Garet's chest and started to cry. He knew she wanted to help Ivan and Isaac. He knew it killed her on the inside to know that her best friends were hurt and she could do nothing except listen to them cry out in pain. Garet wanted to help them as well. But both of them could only sit there and listen to Ivan and Isaac fight for their lives.

Garet wrapped his arms around Mia tightly and his face swelled with anger. He gritted his teeth as he thought; _whoever set that trap is a damn dirty person. Ivan and Isaac need our help and all we can do is __**SIT **__here and listen to them battle without us._ Garet looked up to where he last saw Isaac and Ivan. He simply held Mia tighter as she cried even more into his chest. They both sat there, Mia praying a silent prayer in her head while she wept into Garet's chest; and Garet trying to think of ways to get back up from where they fell.

* * *

The balcony on which the four of them fought was huge. The balcony was not meant for battling, but with the four of them standing off, it almost took the setting of an arena. There was maneuverability, but it was limited for both duos. Karst took the first action of the battle and casted a Supernova spell aimed at the two young adepts. Both Ivan and Isaac dodged it with ease. Ivan jumped left and Isaac jumped right. Both of them felt the superheated air from the explosion pass by their faces. Both of them then charged forward; Ivan at Karst and Isaac at Agatio. While charging, Ivan sliced vertically with his Swift Sword at Karst, who barely managed to bring her scythe up in time to parry the attack. _Damn! He's fast!_ She thought to herself.

Isaac attempted almost the same attack on Agatio. He brought his Gaia Blade over his right shoulder with both hands, and made a powerful vertical slash. Agatio parried Isaac's attack with both of his bracers with no trouble at all. Isaac was strong, but not strong enough to overpower Agatio's mighty Proxian stature. Ivan and Isaac retreated backwards and stood next to each other, taking up a battle stance once again. Karst and Agatio did the same.

It was their turn to cast. Ivan casted Shine Plasma while Isaac simultaneously casted Mother Gaia. The purple bricks around the Proxians' feet started to rupture, pure Venus energy starting to flow out of a small hole. Then almost instantly, it bursted open several meters wide, and stones of all sizes came jetting out of the fissure in the ground. Karst managed to jump away from the rupture in the ground only to be struck by three bolts of lightning, it hurt her, but she could take the blows; she was a warrior after all. She let out a small cry of pain. Agatio was not as lucky. Agatio was caught by the full force of both psynergies, being hit by boulders and lightning alike. He yelled out in pain as he was hit by both spells. He kneeled down for a brief second after the psynergies subsided, then took his battle stance once again.

Ivan and Isaac jumped at them once more, hoping to catch them off-guard. Isaac once again leapt at Agatio. He went for a horizontal slash this time, but Agatio predicted his movements and dodged, then charged full force at Isaac. He punched Isaac so hard in the stomach; it sent him flying into the wall of the lighthouse. Isaac hit the wall with a loud **THUD**, and fell to the ground. Isaac tried to get up, but the wind was completely knocked out of him. He knelt there stunned, falling victim to Agatio's Stun Muscle.

Meanwhile, Ivan was launching a barrage of attacks at Karst. Ivan was just as skillful when it came to light blades as Isaac was with longswords. Despite his skill, Karst parried his attacks with her scythe. She started slowing down, however; growing tired of having to keep up with the Jupiter adept's speed. Ivan noticed this, and kept up his attacks. Agatio looked over after he punched Isaac and saw Karst having trouble with Ivan. Agatio then casted an Eruption aimed at Ivan. Ivan saw it out of the corner of his eye, and jumped backward, disengaging Karst. He barely managed to escape the spell; his sleeve was singed at the tip, as it had gotten caught.

Isaac finally managed to regain his composure, and stood up. He unleashed his Djinni, Vine at the two Mars adepts. Tangles of ivy sprung from the ground around Karst and Agatio, grabbing anywhere they could. Their arms and legs were snared with vines, and they struggled to free themselves. Ivan took this time to buff himself and Isaac with Djinn effects. Ivan unleashed both Zephyr and Breeze. Isaac and Ivan felt themselves gain momentous speed, as well as a ward around them that would absorb some effects of offensive psynergy headed their way.

"Enough of this!" Karst finally shouted as she cast a Fiery Blast around her and Agatio.

All of the vines were scorched into ash. Agatio retaliated instantly after being freed, as did Karst. Agatio casted Rolling Flame, while Karst charged with blinding speed at Isaac, her scythe glowing prepared to unleash Death Scythe. The cylindrical burst of flame traveled so fast, neither Ivan nor Isaac had time to react. The spell collided with both of them, and it hurt. Ivan and Isaac cried out in pain. They were knocked back a few feet from the sheer momentum of the spell.

Luckily for them, the wards that Breeze had put around them absorbed most of the spell, and they were left only with minor burns. Isaac didn't have enough time to brace himself for Karst charging right at him. Her Death Scythe connected, and the silhouette of Death sliced Isaac at the same time Karst did. Karst smiled as she watched her attack connect. Isaac cried out in pain once more, a nasty gash was present across his chest from his right shoulder to the bottom left side of his stomach. Ivan saw this happen, and grew furious. His Swift Sword glowed purple preparing to unleash.

Agatio noticed Karst's attack land, and decided to cast at Ivan. He launched another Eruption spell at Ivan, almost positive it would connect. But before the Eruption happened, Ivan seemingly disappeared into thin air. _What!? Where did he go!? _Agatio thought to himself as he looked around for the Jupiter adept. He heard three extremely loud slashes. The next thing he saw surprised him. Ivan re-appeared where Karst had once stood with his sword held out in front of him. Ivan delivered three extraordinarily fast and powerful blows. Karst was launched at the lighthouse wall. She cried out in pain as she collided with the wall of the lighthouse with another loud **THUD**. She stood up shakily. When she stood back up, Agatio noticed three deep cuts decorated her: one on her arm, one on her chest, and the last on her stomach. Ivan's Swift Sword had unleashed Sonic Smash on Karst, and he had landed all three mighty blows.

Meanwhile, Isaac took the time to cast Potent Cure on himself, sealing the wound on his chest, but leaving a very visible scar. He took a deep breath and took up his battle stance again. Ivan leapt to Isaac's side. While they were doing this, Agatio ran over to Karst. Karst quickly casted a Healing Aura on them both. It managed to seal the fresh wounds Karst had just received, and Agatio felt a little of his strength return.

Yet again, the duos stood across from each other. All of them were tired, but kept fighting. Agatio started the skirmish again by casting Meteor Blow, and a meteor from space began to make its decent toward the Jupiter Lighthouse. Ivan and Isaac didn't delay to retaliate. Isaac casted Odyssey aimed at Agatio. Agatio felt time almost freeze as two giant blue ethereal swords pierced through him. Isaac charged full speed, and connected an attack; a giant yellow-green sword following up his attack and slamming through Agatio, shattering the smaller swords it had crossed. Agatio was knocked back into the lighthouse wall, clutching his chest where a fresh cut could now be seen.

Karst engaged Ivan while this happened. Ivan and Karst exchanged blows, each parrying the others attacks. However, Karst feinted an attack at his left, which Ivan guarded against. _Oh no… _Ivan thought to himself as he saw this happen. He couldn't hope to parry the attack, and instead braced himself. Karst quickly spun around to the right and the blade of her scythe found its way horizontally across Ivan's chest. Karst smiled as he cried out in pain. Ivan quickly summoned a large gust of wind, forcing Karst back. She leapt back next to Agatio, and they both stood a good distance away from Ivan and Isaac.

Isaac returned to Ivan's side, and casted a Potent Cure on Ivan. This sealed the wound on his chest, but left a noticeable scar. _Why are they just standing there? _Isaac thought to himself. Karst and Agatio simply smiled at them both. Ivan and Isaac looked at each other for a brief second confused. They heard something… but what was it? Neither Karst nor Agatio had casted anything, they hadn't moved at all, and they were standing far away. The sound kept growing louder and louder. Then it occurred to both Ivan and Isaac to lookup. Both of them went wide-eyed as they saw a meteor heading straight for them.

It was much too late to even attempt to dodge the meteor, so Isaac did the next best thing. Isaac quickly unleashed his Djinni, Granite. Granite formed a barrier around the two of them, and they braced for the impact. That attack was devastating. Isaac and Ivan screamed loud in agony. Isaac and Ivan were both forcibly knocked back into the wall of the lighthouse. They hit the wall so hard, the walls cracked where they had hit. Burns were present on almost all the surfaces of their bodies. They both stood up slowly and shakily. Agatio and Karst assumed their battle stances once more, unsteadily. They had been worn out as much as Ivan and Isaac.

Isaac quickly unleashed his Djinni, Ground to hold Agatio in place. As multiple yellow-green orbs slowly made their way towards Agatio, he dodged them. However, he didn't realize that the orbs followed him, and once one hit him, they all collided with him. Agatio felt the sheer force of gravity upon him, and he could not move one muscle in his body. Karst casted a Supernova at the same time Ivan casted a Destruct Ray. Both psynergies connected, Ivan and Isaac were in the center of the explosion, and their burns became worse as they both cried out in pain.

The Destruct Ray electrified both Agatio and Karst. Karst knelt over and cried out in pain. Agatio felt pain surge through his body, but he couldn't even react because of the effects of Isaac's Djinni. Ivan and Isaac were tapped of psynergy; Isaac from having to heal so frequently, and Ivan from having to use his abilities to climb the lighthouse. So they did the only thing they could. Isaac summoned Cybele, and Ivan summoned Atlanta. As they summoned them, Ground's effects on Agatio stopped, and he knelt over in pain.

Ivan and Isaac phased out of the material world, when they did this. Agatio and Karst could only watch as the elemental spirits were summoned. A large, orange-and-blue frog like amphibian with a beard and a pair of trees growing from its head appeared in front of them and spit seeds underneath Karst and Agatio. Not even a second later briar upon briar sprung violently from the ground Karst and Agatio were standing on. They were carried high up into the air in the briars, and stopped after about fifty feet. They both cried out in anguish as the briars were sharper than any sword that had ever cut them. Both of them were caught helplessly, high in the air. The attack severely hurt both of them. But the assault wasn't over. While they were being lifted into the air, the heavenly huntress; a young green-haired woman garbed in Greek-style clothing, Atlanta was charging her barrage of arrows. She launched her assault at the two trapped Mars adepts. Karst and Agatio looked up and saw a countless number of massive, otherworldly, green arrows headed toward them. Both of them braced for the attack. Isaac and Ivan watched as the arrows cut through briars and the two Mars adepts alike. As the last arrow passed through, Agatio and Karst fell all the way back down to the lighthouse balcony with a loud **CRASH**.

They lay there for a short while, and stood up very erratically and assumed their battle stances once more. Karst managed to pump out one last Healing Aura before she was tapped. They both needed the healing after an attack like that. Minor aches, and a few cuts and bruises were sealed, while adrenaline was pumped through their bodies. Both parties could tell they were both at their limit. Whoever got off the next set of attacks would be the victor. The duos once again faced off against one another, both in battle stances. They stood silent as neither party made a move. All four of them were breathing heavily.

_They are much, much stronger than I ever imagined. We have to kill them __**now! **_ Karst thought to herself.

_I have enough psynergy left for one more attack… then im tapped. Karst, make a distraction! Quickly!_ Agatio said in his head.

_How are they even standing after that attack? That should have finished them off… It's like fighting Saturos and Menardi all over again without Garet and Mia… _Isaac thought to himself.

_I can't take much more abuse, but they __**must **__be close to collapsing themselves._ Ivan thought to himself.

Karst noticed her scythe glow. She didn't hesitate with this kind of opportunity. She charged once again as fast as she could in her crippled state, (which was still quite fast) at Ivan. Ivan went to parry, but it was no use. Karst sliced right through Ivan's guard. His Swift Sword was knocked from his hands. The silhouette of Death once again appeared and slashed through Ivan. _I'm finished… _Ivan thought as he fell to the ground.

As he fell towards the floor of the balcony, he said, "I'm sorry Isaac… but I can't take anymore…" Ivan hit the ground, his eyes were closed and his breathing was labored; but he was still alive.

"Ivan! No! You gotta keep it together!" Isaac responded as he turned and ran to his friend and tried his hardest to let out any kind of healing.

"**HAH**! Fool! Never let concern distract you in battle!" Agatio yelled, as he casted the last spell he could manage, Rising Dragon at Isaac.

A pillar of flame in the shape of a dragon enveloped Isaac and carried him skyward. It continued carrying him up about fifty feet, then exploded violently. Trails of smoke followed Isaac as he barreled back down towards the lighthouse balcony and landed with a **CRASH**. Isaac didn't get up from that blow, but like Ivan; he was still alive.

Both Agatio and Karst knelt down after they saw their foes collapse. Pain surged through almost every part of their body.

"We did Agatio… we defeated them." Karst said.

"Yes… it was close, but we did it." Agatio responded.

"They are both much stronger than I ever anticipated them to be… no wonder why Saturos and Menardi were felled by them." Karst added. Agatio nodded in agreement. After she said this, both Ivan and Isaac attempted to get up, but it was no use. They both _wanted _to get up, but their bodies wouldn't let them.

"They are still alive!? Even after an assault like that!?" Agatio exclaimed.

"It would be shameful if we ever had the regret of letting them live…" Karst responded, as they both advanced toward the downed Isaac and Ivan.

* * *

Felix and his party finally managed to find the door that led to the balcony where Isaac and his companions were. They made their way up the ladder to the upper platform which would allow them access to the door, but they were stopped by a familiar voice…

"Felix, I've been waiting for you…" Alex said, appearing in front of them with his warping ability. "You've come here to light the beacon yes?" he asked.

"Be patient… I'll light it once we save Isaac and his friends!" Felix responded.

"I thought as much… I saw you watching what happened to Isaac and his companions. They are your friends, even still. They are trying to prevent what we are trying to put in motion. But I know you Felix, you could never leave them behind to die. If you did you would regret it for the rest of your days. You are not like me in the slightest. You cannot abandon people whom you care about…" Alex paused. "Well, you'd better hurry if you hope to save them."

After saying this, Alex nodded at them. He glowed blue for a moment, then pure Mercury healing psynergy encircled Felix's party. All of their wounds were healed, their vigor was renewed and all of their psynergy was restored.

"There! Now go… consider it a gift. But hurry! Karst and Agatio may not delay much longer!" Alex said as he motioned to the door.

"Alex… thank you." Felix said. Alex nodded in response. The five of them then rushed out the door onto the balcony where Isaac was.

As Alex watched them rush out the door, he thought to himself. _Even now I want to run to my dear cousin Mia and give her my aid. Hah. It would seem I am still weak as well… I guess I have little choice but to separate myself from Karst and Agatio._ He shook his head, and he was gone just as fast as he came.

* * *

Felix and his party managed to walk out onto the balcony just in time to hear and see…

"**HAH**! Fool! Never let concern distract you in battle!" Agatio yelled, as he casted the last spell he could manage, Rising Dragon at Isaac.

A pillar of flame in the shape of a dragon enveloped Isaac and carried him skyward. It continued carrying him up about fifty feet, then exploded violently. Trails of smoke followed Isaac as he barreled back down towards the lighthouse balcony and landed with a crash. Isaac didn't get up from that blow, but like Ivan; he was still alive.

_**ISAAC! NOOO!**_ Jenna thought to herself, tears forming in her eyes.

Both Agatio and Karst knelt down after they saw their foes collapse. Pain surged through almost every part of their body.

"We did Agatio… we defeated them." Karst said.

"Yes… it was close, but we did it." Agatio responded.

"They are both much stronger than I ever anticipated them to be… no wonder why Saturos and Menardi were felled by them." Karst added. Agatio nodded in agreement. After she said this, both Ivan and Isaac attempted to get up, but it was no use. They both wanted to get up, but their bodies wouldn't let them.

"They are still alive!? Even after an assault like that!?" Agatio exclaimed.

_He's still alive! Thank the elements he is still alive!_ Jenna thought to herself.

"It would be shameful if we ever had the regret of letting them live…" Karst responded, as they both advanced toward the downed Isaac and Ivan. "It was a pleasure getting to fight you… but I'm afraid we cannot let you live." Karst said as she brought her scythe to Isaac's throat.

"**Don't even think about it Karst!**" Felix yelled.

"**I'm not about to sit by and watch you kill them!**" Jenna exclaimed.

"None of us are Jenna!" Piers shouted.

"Get away from them! You've done enough damage as it is!" Sheba added.

"Felix!? What are you doing!?" Agatio said standing up slowly.

A look of disgust crossed Karst's face. "Is that any way to talk to us after doing you a favor!?" she remarked.

"Odd that nothing catastrophic has happened from Jupiter being lit… it is unlike the other lighthouses so I've heard." Agatio said looking around.

Karst frowned deeply. "You haven't lit the beacon yet have you!? And after all we have done to give you assistance!" Karst yelled.

"We were about to light the beacon… that is until we heard you start fighting with Isaac!" Kraden said.

A look of anger crossed Agatio's face. "Then go do it!" Agatio said back.

Sheba shook her head. "We're not leaving Isaac and his friends behind." Sheba said.

"Oh perfect… Felix is going to double-cross us now!" Karst said.

"No… I'm simply saving my friends! You're not killing them, if you really want to, you'll have to go through us first!" Felix said.

"Yes! If you really wanted to clear to way to the aerie of the lighthouse then your job is done!" Piers added.

"Isaac is too dangerous a foe to let him live!" Agatio said

"Imagine what they could have done if they had the other two adepts with them! We must kill them now!" Karst added.

"Like Felix said, if you want to kill them, then you have to go through **us** first!" Jenna remarked.

"You are both severely crippled. If you were to fight Felix and his companions, you would lose indefinitely. I think it would be best for all of us if you simply left now." Kraden said.

Karst and Agatio looked at each other with mixed expressions.

"Looks like we have little choice…" Karst said.

"Karst! No! They killed Saturos and Menardi! Where is the rage I saw in battle!" Agatio responded. Karst let out a sigh.

"If we fight them now, we will be no match. I am furious, but not so much as to be blinded by my rage." Karst responded before she turned to Felix. "Do what you will with Isaac and his friends." Upon hearing this, the five of them smiled.

"But swear this to us! If we leave now, you will go ignite Jupiter's Beacon!" Agatio said. Felix nodded in response. "The beacon comes first! I don't care if you want to help your friends or not!" Agatio added.

"Go Felix, we will tend to Isaac, Garet and his friends." Kraden said. Felix nodded again.

"Be sure to grab the Mars Star that Isaac carries, and meet us on the aerie!" Karst said. Everybody had a surprised look on their face.

"How did you know about the Mars Star!?" Kraden asked.

"This was not just simply a revenge mission! Alex told us Isaac had the Mars Star in his possession!" Agatio responded.

"Take the Star or we will!" Karst said as she advanced toward Isaac with her arm extended. Piers immediately grabbed her arm and stopped her, his face clearly expressing anger.

"…Go ahead Felix, take it…" Isaac said weakly. "I don't know why you are doing it… but I trust you… take the Star!" Isaac said.

"Isaac…" Felix said with a frown as he walked over to Isaac. Felix looked at him, he was definitely banged up from that fight with Agatio and Karst. Isaac gave him a weak smile as he reached into his pack and pulled out a Mythril Bag and slowly handed it to Felix. Felix smiled back lightly at Isaac.

"Good. Now meet us on the aerie! We'll be waiting!" Karst said as she and Agatio quickly made their way to the aerie. Felix waited a while before following Karst and Agatio, taking in the situation at hand.

"Make sure they are all okay." Felix said. They all nodded as Felix started to walk to the aerie himself. As he was about to go through the door that led back inside the lighthouse, Piers stopped him.

"Felix wait… I do not have a good feeling about this, and we simply cannot trust Karst or Agatio. I will come with you to make sure nothing happens." Piers said.

"Good idea! We'll join you at the aerie once we're done here." Sheba added.

"Go on, both of you. We'll be fine." Jenna said.

"Yes indeed. Safety in numbers as they say…" Kraden said.

Felix nodded. He was still holding the Mythril Bag containing the Mars Star in his hand. Piers followed him and they disappeared from the balcony of the lighthouse and started to make their way up to the aerie of the Jupiter Lighthouse.

* * *

Karst and Agatio swiftly made their way to the aerie of the lighthouse, while discussing what their plan of action should be.

"Here. I brought some Potions and Psy Crystals with me, just in case something like this happened…" Karst said as she pulled the items out from her bag and tossed them to Agatio.

"Good thinking!" Agatio claimed as he drank a Potion and absorbed a Psy Crystal. He felt the pain in his body decrease. While some of it still remained, it was not as harsh as before. "Ahh, much better! So what are we going to do about this whole situation?"

Karst did the same before responding, "Felix is a traitor.. we must get rid of him... Everyone else seemed to busy tending to Isaac and his friends to send more than just Felix up to the well... What fools to send him to the aerie alone! We will attack him there after he lights the Jupiter beacon. With Felix out of the way, they will not be able to find their way to Prox."

"Another treacherous plan! You are full of them today Karst! But I like it. Felix now holds the Star. We shall kill him, take the Mars Star from him and light the Mars beacon ourselves!" Agatio responded.

Karst smiled and said, "You read my mind Agatio! This is why we are _mirashtalos_. We work so well together and agree on important tasks that need to be done!"

Agatio simply laughed as they walked out onto the aerie of the lighthouse and waited for Felix…

* * *

Felix and Piers finally exited a door to the aerie of the lighthouse. They walked up the steps and they were both "greeted" by Agatio and Karst.

"You are late Felix!" Karst said angrily.

"Hurry up and light the beacon!" Agatio added.

_Damn! He brought that Mercury adept with him… what was his name. Piers! Right. _Karst thought to herself as she noticed the blue-haired Lemurian following Felix.

_Hmm. I was not expecting Felix to bring an ally with him. No matter, we beat Isaac and Ivan, this will be no different…_ Agatio thought to himself. Karst and Agatio looked at each other. Both of them could tell what the other was thinking. They were _mirashtalos _after all. They nodded to each other and waited for the beacon to be lit.

Felix and Piers walked over to the well of the lighthouse where the stone block was hovering above thanks to their efforts beforehand. Felix carefully took the Jupiter Star out of its bag, and held it out in the palm of his hand. The Jupiter Star slowly levitated out of his hand, and hovered above the well of the lighthouse for a few seconds before slowly making its decent into the well. All of a sudden, an enormous beam of white light erupted from the well accompanied by a loud crashing sound. The entire foundation of the lighthouse began to shake as the beam of light grew brighter and brighter. All four of them shielded their eyes from it. A massive purple orb began to take shape above the well.

"I've heard stories of the lighthouses being lit… I'd never imagine it would be so remarkable." Piers yelled.

The beam of light disappeared and the lighthouse stopped shaking. Where the stone block once was, a giant purple sphere of pure Jupiter psynergy pulsated. Piers and Felix nodded to each other and started to make their way back down the stairs, only to find Karst and Agatio blocking their paths with devilish smiles on their faces.

"Why do you stand in our way? We have lit the beacon; let us return to our friends." Piers stated.

"Not a chance." Karst replied.

"You see Felix, you have betrayed us once already, and we can no longer trust you." Agatio added. Piers and Felix looked at each other, anger crossing both of their faces.

"Now that you have finished your task of igniting the Jupiter beacon, we have no more use of you and your friends." Karst said.

"So... it's that way is it?" Felix responded.

"I'm afraid so. Now you will both die atop this lighthouse." Agatio said. While Agatio was speaking, Karst quickly ran over to Felix and stole the Mythril Bag containing the Mars Star out of his hands, and retreated back to Agatio's side. Felix went to run over to Karst to grab it back, but Agatio quickly stepped in front of him. A look of frustration crossed Felix's face.

"And what of my parents? You will still release them once the Mars Lighthouse has been lit?" Felix asked.

"Of course. We would never break an oath we promised to keep as you have so carelessly done." Karst said.

"However that presents a problem." Agatio added.

"And what might that be?" Piers asked.

"If you are dead, who will come to take them home from Prox?" Agatio said.

"That is where you are mistaken. We will not die today." Felix said as he unsheathed his Hestia Blade.

"Bold words! Prepare to die!" Agatio yelled back, clanging his bracers together in a fighting fashion. Piers drew the Could Brand and Karst slung the scythe from her back. They all took up battle stances, and yet again, a fight between good and evil waged once more.

* * *

Felix and Piers had disappeared into the lighthouse. This left Jenna, Sheba and Kraden to tend to Isaac and his friends.

Jenna quickly ran over to Isaac with tears streaming down her cheeks. She knelt down next to him before she spoke.

"Isaac! Oh no… How could those _**monsters **_do such a thing!?" Jenna cried. Isaac slightly opened his eyes at hearing Jenna's voice.

"J… Jenna? I.. I came to rescue you. Gla.. Glad you are safe.." Isaac said softly with a faint smile.

Jenna smiled back at him, tears still running down her face. "Of course you did, but now I'm here to save you."

While Jenna ran over to Isaac, Sheba ran over to Ivan's side and knelt down next to him.

"Ivan! Oh Jupiter this is not good. Ivan! Can you hear me!?" Sheba asked frantically, tears forming in her eyes.

"Wh.. who.. Sheba? Is that you..?" Ivan responded weakly while dimly opening his eyes.

"Ivan! Thank Jupiter you are still alive! Don't worry about Karst and Agatio, we're here to help you!" Sheba responded with a bright smile, while wiping her eyes.

Ivan faintly smiled back and said, "Th.. thank you. But.. Garet.. Mia.. need help." He pointed over to the bridge that was still collapsed.

"I'll be right back Ivan, don't you **dare** even **think** about dying on me!" Sheba said as she ran over to the collapsed bridge.

Kraden was already standing there when Sheba got to it. Kraden was fiddling with a rope Piers had given to Kraden before he joined Felix on the aerie.

"Garet! Mia! Are you two alright down there!" Kraden called down to them.

"We're fine, but what about Ivan and Isaac!?" Garet responded.

"They are in bad shape, they must be tended to!" Kraden yelled back down to them.

"Can you get us up there? I can heal them both if you can somehow get us back up!" Mia called.

An idea popped into Sheba's head. She took the rope from Kraden and used Lash to tie the rope to a pillar on the balcony, to a pillar on the platform below.

"Good work Sheba!" Kraden said. Sheba didn't even hear Kraden give her words of praise, as she was back at Ivan's side in an instant.

Jenna was casting Cool Auras on Isaac and Ivan, trying to relieve their pain and giving them rushes of adrenaline to help them cope with what pain couldn't be suppressed by Jenna's healing. Garet and Mia slowly climbed up the rope. Garet rushed over to join Sheba, while Mia quickly ran over to Isaac's side. She could tell Isaac was in more danger from the Jupiter Lighthouse being lit. Ivan would recover faster than Isaac because of the beacon regardless.

"I'll take over from here!" Mia said to Jenna. Mia started pumping multiple Pure Ply spells into Isaac.

Jenna nodded and looked deep into Mia's eyes. Then Jenna responded, "Please Mia… take care of him…" Tears even still streaming down her cheeks.

Mia saw the sincerity and fear in Jenna's eyes. Mia knew Isaac was the most important person in the world to Jenna next to Felix. "Of course Jenna! I would not dream of letting Isaac die!" Mia responded.

"Thank you.. so much Mia…" Jenna responded. She then wiped the tears from her face and took on a serious look. "I'm going to go join Felix and Piers at the aerie! They are taking much to long for my taste to simply light a beacon!" Jenna continued.

Everybody nodded in response. Jenna then made her way to the door that Felix and Piers had previously gone through. She couldn't help but let out a small smile seeing Sheba so concerned with Ivan's condition. Once all this trouble was sorted out, she would confront Sheba about it. Sheba had teased her about Isaac back in Madra after all. Jenna then disappeared through the door into the lighthouse and made her way to the aerie.

"Ivan! Are you okay?!" Garet asked when he reached Ivan's side.

Sheba quickly unleashed her Djinni, Breath on Ivan in desperation. The Djinni's effect was clearly visible on Ivan, as he started to stir more and more. The Jupiter beacon was also adding to Ivan's recovery, but he still needed healing from Mia to regain his composure.

"Ugh… Yeah I think I'll be fine.." Ivan said as he sat up slowly.

"Don't even **think** about sitting up! You just almost died, and you want to rush standing up again!?" Sheba yelled as she gently forced Ivan to lay down again.

"Whoa, whoa! Okay I'll just uhh.. leave you two alone then.." Garet said slowly moving away from the two wind adepts.

"It's not like that!" Sheba said in defense, while her cheeks flushed pinkish-red in color. "I… I am simply worried about Ivan!"

"Uhh huh. I'm sure!" Garet said back to them over his shoulder as he made his way toward Isaac.

Ivan let out a sigh, as his cheeks turned red also. "How is Isaac doing?"

"Isaac is fine. A better question would be how are you faring?" Mia said while she knelt down next to Ivan.

Well, Jenna's healing, Sheba's Djinni, and the Jupiter lighthouse beacon are making me recover rather quickly." Ivan responded.

Mia shook her head. "Even so, I still want to look you over." Mia then looked at Sheba with a warm smile. "Thank you for your assistance Sheba! If you wish you may join your friends, I fear something has gone wrong on the aerie." Mia continued.

"Oh! Yes of course!" Sheba said. Her cheeks were still a bright shade of red. "I'll just uhh… be going then!" She stood up from Ivan's side and started walking toward the door the other three in her party had already gone through. She turned before going into the door and said, "It was… nice to see you again Ivan!" as she disappeared through the door.

Ivan's face turned red once again as he saw Sheba disappear through the door. Mia simply laughed at Ivan while she was healing him.

"Oh be quiet Mia!" Ivan finally snapped.

"It's only fair! You did it yesterday!" Mia returned.

Ivan sighed once again then smiled. "Well I guess you got me there." Ivan responded. Mia giggled again, but then merely smiled as she continued to heal Ivan.

While Ivan was laying there, he recalled the time he had spent with Sheba in Tolbi. Ivan had visited her when she was a captive in Tolbi. Lord Babi had essentially kidnapped her and used her as a means to force Lalivero to build the Babi Lighthouse.

He had kept her company, as she was not allowed any visitors, but Lord Babi made an exception for Ivan because of his help in the Altmiller Cave. Lord Babi even went so far as to let Sheba go out into the city, so long as Ivan kept an eye on her and they stayed out of trouble. They had bonded a lot during that time. Isaac's group had a lot of down time after Colosso ended and decided to enjoy the city for a few days while they were there. Every day, Ivan would go see Sheba.

They exchanged stories with each other, laughed together, and basically just enjoyed each other's company. They never ran out of things to talk about because they could read each other's minds, and simply start on an entirely new subject without all the awkward pauses in-between. Ivan had tried to keep quiet about it from the other three, but it came up sometimes, as Ivan could not just help himself from talking about her sometimes.

"All finished. You should be fine now." Mia finally said.

Ivan stood up and nodded at her. "Thank you Mia!" he said with a large smile.

As Ivan stood up, Isaac, Kraden and Garet walked over to him and Mia.

"Well… I am never ever doubting Master Hamma ever again." Garet said.

"Now's not the time Garet. C'mon, let's get to the aerie quick! Karst and Agatio could be attacking them as we speak!" Isaac responded.

The five of them quickly set off at a jogging pace to the aerie of the Jupiter Lighthouse.

* * *

The aerie of the Jupiter Lighthouse, like the balcony before it, took the setting of an arena. It had more room to maneuver around. However, this time it was just a large, simple circle. There were no walls anywhere.

Felix felt himself weakened by an unknown force. Then it dawned on him. His elemental affinity was that of Venus. Jupiter was his elemental affinity's clashing element. Standing right next to the lit beacon of Jupiter was taking its toll on him. _Damn! I hope the others get up here quick! If I am in a weakened state, we have no hope of standing a chance against them. _Felix thought.

Felix began the battle by unleashing Petra on Agatio. A figure of a Venus Djinni projected above Felix, and clouds of yellow-green shrouded Agatio. He found himself unable to move any part of his body. Piers followed up with his own Djinni unleash, Rime, on Karst. An outline of a mercury Djinni projected behind Karst. As the outline slowly faded, a psynergy seal formed over Karst.

Karst responded by engaging Piers with her scythe. Steel clashed with steel multiple times, neither adept finding a way to penetrate the other's defense. Since Agatio couldn't act, Felix decided to unleash yet another Djinni, Echo onto Agatio. Felix leapt at Agatio quickly, his Hestia Blade glowed, empowered with Venus energy. His slash hit Agatio square in the chest, then the Djinni launched out of his sword and did an attack of its own. It carried Agatio high into the air and dropped him. Agatio couldn't move, and he hit the ground hard, landing on his back.

While this was happening, Karst and Piers were still dueling with each other. Getting nowhere they both decided to disengage each other and hopped back next to their respective allies. Piers started the round of attacks this time, casting Supercool at both Agatio and Karst. Jagged spears of ice seemingly formed out of thin air around the two fire adepts. Karst jumped high into the air, avoiding the attack. Agatio simply crossed his arms in an X-like fashion and was encased by the icy spears, forming a huge jagged icy sphere around Agatio. The icy globe started to pulsate from the inside. A red glow could be seen from the icy ball where Agatio stood. Immediately after, a Rolling Flame shot out of it, shattering and melting all of the ice around him. The spell traveled so fast, Piers and Felix didn't have time to react, and the spell connected with both of them. They were knocked backwards a few yards, new burns present on both of their bodies. They recovered from the spell by healing themselves quickly with a Potent Cure and a Ply Well. The burns left as quickly as they appeared. However, both of them looked up and saw Karst descending down upon them both with her scythe. She was closing in much too fast for either of them to do anything, so Felix braced himself for an attack.

Karst saw Agatio launch a Rolling Flame and saw her chance to attack as Felix and Piers were recovering from the spell. She started to descend upon Felix, her scythe glowing with the enchantment that called Death itself. She smiled as she knew her attack would land. She was merely ten feet above Felix when out of nowhere a powerful Cycle Beam blasted Karst out of the air. She flew backwards and landed with a loud **THUD** next to Agatio. She looked up in fury and saw Jenna standing about twenty feet behind Felix, her sword outstretched as it had just launched the spell.

"I knew something didn't feel right!" Jenna shouted as she ran next to Felix and Piers.

Karst looked at Agatio and said, "Damn! Agatio! Felix's sister isn't supposed to be here!"

Agatio looked back at her and responded, "What do you want me to do? We can't just run now, we must finish them here!"

"Good timing… they were trying to kill us!" Piers said as he saw Jenna take up a battle stance.

"Thanks for the save Jenna." Felix said to her with a confident smile. "Now let's take down these deceitful bastards!" He continued.

Both parties engaged each other once again. Out of anger, Karst went straight for Jenna. Her scythe aimed to kill. Jenna parried the attack with ease however; and while their blades were crossed Karst's fiery red eyes met Jenna's reddish brown eyes. Both of their brows were furrowed. Hatred was present in both of their faces. They continued exchanging blows with each other, each landing a cut here, a slice there. But both were too consumed by their emotions; Jenna's disgust for Karst for attempting to kill Isaac and Felix. Karst returned Jenna's revulsion equally, as Jenna had interrupted Karst from killing both Isaac and Felix. Both of them to absorbed in their feelings to even care how wounded they got while fighting each other.

While Jenna was keeping Karst at bay, Piers and Felix leapt at Agatio. Both of them slashed at Agatio in alteration, making it very difficult for Agatio to keep up parrying the attacks with his bracers. Both Piers and Felix landed a good amount of attacks since they were both simultaneously hacking and slashing. Agatio tried to parry all of the attacks headed his way, but he couldn't. Cut after cut started to form on his body, in many different places. Some cuts deeper than others. Agatio finally grew furious and casted an Eruption right in front of him while shouting at the top of his lungs. Piers and Felix were both caught in it. The spell sent them spiraling backwards. They both hit the ground and slid a couple feet before standing back up. Piers took longer to get up, as the spell had an increased effect on his Mercury alignment.

Jenna saw this out of the corner of her eye. She attempted to disengage Karst by casting a Serpent Fume at her, which she thought she did successfully. Karst easily avoided the attack by jumping backwards a short distance. Jenna turned around, her back to Karst, to cast a Cool Aura on herself and her allies. Karst smiled, and immediately charged back up to Jenna and sliced a deep cut down her back from her right shoulder to the bottom left side of her back. Jenna cried out in pain very loud and fell over.

Felix saw this happen, and out of intense rage, he casted the strongest Odyssey spell he could muster. Even with the Jupiter beacon shining bright next to him, it did not hinder this spell. His sister was one of things he protected with every fiber of his being. This time, four ethereal blue swords came up from the ground into Karst, pinning her in place. Felix leapt as high as he could in the air, and came down with a massive yellow-green sword that smashed into Karst, and shattered the other four ethereal swords. Karst cried out in as much pain as Jenna did. Agatio watched Felix unleash that attack, and he charged full force toward Felix. He rammed into him and punched Felix in the stomach just as he had done with Isaac. Felix felt the wind get knocked out of him as he flew backwards toward his allies. He hit the ground and slid backward a couple meters. He tried standing up, but couldn't. Felix, like Isaac, was feeling the after-effects of Agatio's Stun Muscle.

Agatio helped Karst up to her feet, Karst then casted a Healing Aura on them both, helping their wounds seal up, and giving them a rush of adrenaline. While this was happened, Piers casted Restore on Felix. All of Felix's wind returned to him as if Agatio had never punched him in the first place. He looked at Piers and thanked him with a nod, then ran over to Jenna. He pumped out the biggest Potent Cure he possible could, sealing the wound on Jenna's back, and leaving no scar or mark at all. He helped her back up to her feet as Piers ran over next to them. The two parties stood across from each other once again, the five of them all breathing heavily.

At that moment, Sheba ran up the stairs to the aerie and said, "Isaac and his friends are… What is going on?" Her expression changed from relaxed to surprised as she saw everyone with their weapons drawn in a fighting stance.

"Karst and Agatio are trying to kill us!" Jenna shouted.

"They tried to ambush me and Felix when we came up here to light the beacon." Piers yelled.

"What dishonorable traitors!" Sheba screamed as she took up a battle stance next to her allies.

"Karst this is not good.. we are beginning to get heavily outnumbered.." Agatio said

"It's much too late to flee now, we have to keep fighting!" Karst claimed.

"Isaac and the others are fine now. Let's take care of these two fiends!" Sheba said while drawing her staff, the Meditation Rod.

Both parties engaged each other yet again. Felix and Jenna bolted at Agatio, while Sheba and Piers took on Karst. Although it wasn't as hard as fighting two warrior style adepts at the same time, it was still very difficult for Agatio to stand his ground against the relentless assault from Felix and Jenna. Felix's strikes had more power and precision behind them, while Jenna's strikes were very quick, and hard to parry. Agatio received even more cuts on his body, which started to make him falter.

In the midst of attacking, Jenna's sword started glowing. She jumped back and held it skyward. A blinding Light Surge fell from the sky. Felix noticed this and leapt backwards next to Jenna. As beams of purple light continually bombarded Agatio, he cried out in pain. He was left deluded from the Light Surge, and he could not see straight. Felix casted a Ragnarok instead of Odyssey, as he was starting to feel weakened from the Jupiter Lighthouse beacon. The massive psynergetic blade smashed into Agatio and sent him flying backwards. He slid across the floor and had a very difficult time standing back up because of all the cuts and delusion.

Meanwhile, Piers and Sheba were attacking Karst. Karst attempted to cast a Supernova at Piers and Sheba, but it failed. _What!?Why can't I cast!?" _Karst thought to herself as she tried to cast Supernova again. Sheba smiled to herself. The Jupiter beacon was making all of her psynergy stronger. She had casted Bind on Karst without her noticing. Sheba then noticed her staff glow erratically. The Meditation Rod let out a howl. It unleashed Nirvana, and drew psynergy straight out of Karst. Orbs of psynergy flowed out of Karst and formed into two rings; Sheba absorbed all of the orbs in both rings, feeling her own pool of psynergy refreshed. Piers then casted Diamond Berg at Karst. An immense dome of ice fell onto Karst, freezing her in place. Before Piers began his assault on the dome, Sheba casted Impact on him. Piers felt power flow freely through his body, as he crushed the icy dome into nothing, finally striking Karst at the center. This launched Karst backward, sliding on the floor, and stopping next to Agatio.

The four adepts regrouped together, all of them ready for another round of attacks. Agatio and Karst however, looked like they were on their last legs.

"Agatio! We… cannot.. be defeated here!" Karst said weakly as she casted a Healing Aura (as the psynergy seal had vanished).

"We cannot… defeat them Karst.. we are outnumbered…and outmatched." Agatio replied feebly.

"Then let us fight until we die.. it has been an honor to fight by your side _miroshtalo_." Karst replied.

Agatio nodded, "And it has been an honor to have battled by yours, _mirashtala_."

They both stood up unsteadily, and took up their battle stance, eager to continue the battle. This is where they would make their last stand. Karst closed her eyes and let her scythe fall to the ground. She slowed down her breathing greatly, and focused her mind. She held out both her arms in front of her, with her hands and fingers outstretched looking like she was about to cast. Agatio mirrored Karst.

"Get ready, who knows what they might do next." Felix warned his party as he prepared for an attack. However, he wasn't ready for what he was about to experience.

Without warning, both Karst and Agatio's eyes shot open. Karst casted Supernova from one hand, and Fiery Blast with the other, while Agatio casted Eruption from one hand and Rising Dragon from the other. The Fiery Blast spell knocked all four adepts backwards. This put them right into the middle of the Supernova spell. The Supernova caused all four of them to launch the opposite direction (forward) in which the Fiery Blast had knocked them. This caused Jenna, Piers, and Sheba to be right in the middle of the Eruption spell. This knocked them backward once again. The three of them were knocked back a large distance, and slid across the floor while they cried in immense amounts of pain at being continually barraged by some of the most powerful Mars psynergy they had ever experienced. Meanwhile, Felix was caught by a pillar of flame in the shape of a dragon that continually traveled skyward at an alarmingly fast rate. Piers, Jenna and Sheba all struggled to their knees, and looked on with fear as they saw the Rising Dragon explode in the air. Felix fell down just as Isaac had. Trails of smoke followed him all the way down to where he landed with a loud **CRASH**.

Agatio and Karst collapsed to their knees as well. That last set of casts had drained them of psynergy. Jenna, Sheba, Piers, and Felix all very slowly rose up. Felix was the last to stand, as he had taken the most damage of all of them. Felix quickly unleashed Flower. At the same time, Jenna casted a Healing Aura; Piers casted a Ply Well on himself and Sheba unleashed Breath on herself. The Djinni, Flower renewed their energy and cured all of their burns. The Healing Aura sealed all of the wounds they had received, and pumped adrenaline through their bodies. Piers restored his spirit with his own spell, healing what the other spells had missed. Sheba felt her second wind come on as Breath's effects coursed through her. They all stood up once more and counter-attacked with their own barrage of psyngery.

Karst and Agatio could only look upon the four adepts as they readied their counter-casts.

_Hmph! Beaten by Felix and his companions! I suppose I would most rather die at Felix's hands than anyone else. I've become soft! What is Weyard coming too… _Karst thought to herself as she looked down.

_So, this is how it ends? Being bested by Felix. I suppose the training Felix received finally paid off…_ Agatio thought as he looked at Karst.

Jenna and Sheba were the first to cast. Sheba let out a Tornado, while Jenna casted a Flare Storm. The two spells converged together on their way to Agatio and Karst. The two fire adepts were each caught in tornado of fire, being violently tossed around while simultaneously being burned. After the storm had taken its toll on both Agatio and Karst, it spit them out in opposite directions. Felix and Piers followed up with Ragnarok and Diamond Dust. A giant psynergetic sword pierced Agatio's mid-section and speared him to the floor of the lighthouse with a loud, explosive **BOOM **before vanishing. Diamond Dust was aimed at Karst. Massive chunks of razor sharp ice continually barraged Karst. She was juggled around in the air for a bit, being hit and cut by mass after mass of ice before finally falling next to Agatio. Both Agatio and Karst stirred as to move, but couldn't. They were still alive, but even more crippled than after their fight with Isaac and Ivan.

Felix and his party let out a huge sigh. The battle with them was finally over. Not only had Karst and Agatio fought Isaac and Ivan, but Felix and his entire party; and they had almost emerged victorious.

"We did it.. we defeated them." Piers finally said.

"So what should we do now?" Sheba asked.

"Finish us!" Agatio said from the ground.

"But think what will happen to your dear parents if neither we nor Saturos and Mendardi return to Prox!" Karst said.

"The Proxians would never deliberately kill our parents!" Felix retorted.

"Then **FINISH **us!" Agatio repeated.

Felix walked up to them, his sword in hand. He lifted it up above Karst's head… he brought it up above his head… and he stabbed the tip of his Hestia Blade into the purple bricks of the lighthouse.

"I knew you didn't have it in you to kill us!" Karst said angrily.

"You've made the better decision Felix." Alex said as he walked up onto the aerie.

Everyone had a surprised look on their face.

"Alex? Have you been here the whole time?" Jenna asked confused.

"If Karst is telling the truth, your efforts will have been for nothing. And if that happens, Isaac will share the same fate as you." Alex said as he walked over to Karst and Agatio. He quickly started to heal both of them.

As Agatio started to stand up, Sheba yelled, "Alex! What are you doing!?"

"I have healed them enough. Don't worry, they will not be a threat to you, they can barely even stand for the time being." Alex replied.

"Even so! That doesn't make it right.." Piers responded.

"Please… you would have just left them here, none of you would have finished them off anyway." Alex said.

"I hope you aren't expecting thanks or praise for this Alex!" Karst responded.

Alex smiled at hearing this. "From you Karst? Never. However, it would be best if we left now, Isaac and the others are on their way up here as we speak."

Karst and Agatio nodded, they didn't need to be told twice. The three of them made their way to the elevator on the left side of the Jupiter lighthouse, and disappeared as it made its decent to the bottom.

As the three villains made their exit, Isaac, Ivan, Mia, Garet and Kraden all climbed up the steps to the aerie.

"And they got away.." Garet said clearly disappointed. Everybody was silent for a short while before Isaac spoke up.

"Felix… what the **hell **is going on!?" Isaac asked.

"Isaac… I-" Felix began, but was interrupted by Kraden

"It's all very complicated Isaac, there are many things that you don't know. There are a number of justifying conditions for Felix's actions." Kraden said.

"What Kraden!? You're on their side now!?" Garet yelled.

Ivan quickly ran in between the two groups. "This is not the time or place for us to argue or battle. None of us are in shape for either one of those things. I think we should all regroup at the manor in Contigo and discuss everything there. We can rest there… this does not have to end in combat like it usually does." Ivan said.

"Well said Ivan." Kraden said.

"I agree with Ivan." Sheba said.

"True words of wisdom." Piers added.

"Good plan Ivan." Garet said.

"Yes I agree, we should at least be civil about our differences." Mia said.

"I agree Mia… I'm sick of all this nonsense!" Jenna said

"All right then Felix, what do you say?" Isaac asked.

"Yes, let us discuss this in Contigo, I have much to discuss with you Isaac." Felix responded.

Isaac nodded. "Good. Our manor is at the top of Contigo. Just walk in whenever you get back. But don't think you can just run off this time, we'll be waiting for you."

"I would never dream of doing that Isaac." Felix responded.

Isaac and his friends then walked to the elevator on the right side of the lighthouse aerie, jumped on it, and began their descent toward the base of the lighthouse. Just as Isaac and his party went out of sight, the left elevator came back up.

"Come on, let's go." Felix said. They all nodded in response and followed Felix onto the elevator on the left side of the aerie and began their way back towards Contigo.

* * *

**NOTES: **

**Thank you to, TheGrueHunter and Sentinel07 for taking the time to review. Good to hear that some people like the story. I updated the first chapter to separate the huge paragraphs and characters speaking, well said on both of your parts.**

**When i was writing this chapter, I had the Jupiter Lighthouse theme and the Karst and Agatio battle theme stuck in my head hah. **

**For those who are wondering about the term, _mirashtalos._ This is term I more or less made up. _Mirashtalos_ is a term that refers to two Proxians, typically male and female, who are paired together at a young age. They are trained in the ways of battle together, and there is no closer bond for Proxians other than marriage. They always travel together, and can very rarely be separated. _Miroshtalo _refers to the male partner, while _Mirashtala _refers to the female partner. And yes, this means Saturos and Menardi were _mirashtolos _as well as Agatio and Karst. In future stories I'll be using the terms I create.**

**On another note, I need more reviews! Leave me reviews! I don't care if it is just a sentence long! I want to hear what you have to say! I dont care if it is good or bad. But thank you for those who took time to read the story! Hope you are enjoying it thus far. **


	3. A Reunion of Adepts

**Chapter 3! Sorry it took me so long to upload. I had it written out, but didn't like it, so I scrapped it and started over. This chapter is mostly dialogue, but there is plot progression I promise! It gets a little mush near the end, so don't bash me to hard. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Golden Sun or anything to do with it, that belongs to Nintendo and Camelot. I just like writing stories about it.**

* * *

It had been a day since the events that took place atop the Jupiter Lighthouse. Isaac and his companions were resting easy at their manor in Contigo. They had decided to take this day to relax, as Felix and his group would hopefully be stopping by. The previous day was indeed very stressful, so they felt like they deserved a little time to themselves. It was late in the afternoon, as the sun was about to set over the mountains.

Isaac and Garet were outside sharpening their weapons with whetstones, discussing the events from the previous day.

"So, that fight with Karst and Agatio.. just how good were they?" Garet asked.

"They were good… Both of them are master fire adepts like Saturos and Menardi. Their Mars psynergy is probably only matched by Saturos, Menardi, you and Jen. Agatio is strong. Not just strong, but like **really** strong. When he punched me, he knocked the wind clean out of me, and sent me flying into a wall. As for Karst, she takes after her sister. She is just as deadly with a scythe as Menardi was. Not to mention her psyngery. We almost managed to beat them, but they can really take a thrashing." Isaac responded.

"Damn.. as if Saturos and Menardi weren't a handful themselves. Now we have those two to deal with." Garet added.

"Yeah no kidding. Felix really saved our asses back at the lighthouse. If it weren't for him, me and Ivan would most likely be dead; and you and Mia would probably still be stuck on that ledge." Isaac said.

"Yeah, it is a good thing Felix was there when he was. Still, it **is** kinda weird to think that Karst is Menardi's sister." Garet stated.

"I know what you mean! Now she'll probably be out for blood to avenger her sister…" Isaac said.

* * *

While Isaac and Garet were outside working on their weapons, Ivan was in the living room, sitting at a desk, and writing in his encyclopedia. They had encountered a few monsters on their way back to Contigo the previous day, but nothing the four of them couldn't handle. He had been filling in page after page since he woke up. While he was scribbling in his book, Ivan brought his hand to his chin in thought.

_Hmm… Now what was that Karst said about where they were from? Prots? No. Prok? No… Proz? No, no… that's not it either. Think Ivan, think! The frozen land of… Prox! That's it!_

He smiled in victory as he finished making the entries for Karst and Agatio. Their section was in the encyclopedia on the page next to Saturos and Menardi. Ivan skimmed over the page to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

_Extremely dangerous… handle with caution… Master Mars Adepts… Hail from the town of Prox… scythe… bracers… travel as a pair… do not fight fairly… very deceitful… very resilient… Looks good to me!_

Ivan smiled in triumph once again as he leaned back in his chair and stretched out backwards. He then sniffed the air. _Oh man! Something smells really good! _Ivan thought to himself as he walked towards the kitchen.

* * *

While the boys were doing their things, Mia and Master Hamma were in the kitchen, preparing for when Felix and his company would arrive. They had been at it for about an hour now, before Ivan finally strolled casually into the kitchen.

"It smells good in here! Anything I can do to help?" Ivan asked as he walked in.

"Ahh, hello little brother! I take it you finished writing in your book?" Master Hamma responded.

"Yep. Took me the better portion of the day to finish the entries, but they are finally finished." Ivan stated.

"Well that's good! Umm… if you want to help you could start peeling some potatoes, we're gunna need them in a little bit if you don't mind!" Mia said as she stirred the contents inside a large pot.

"Sure thing!" Ivan responded while he picked up a knife and starting peeling away.

They worked in silence, each of them distracted with their own tasks of the kitchen, until Master Hamma finally spoke.

"So Mia… you were saying how you fell and Garet jumped in after you?" Master Hamma asked.

"Oh right! So I fell, the floor beneath me literally disappeared. It was a trap Agatio and Karst had set, and Garet jumped in after me." Mia responded.

Hamma gasped, "Oh my!"

"Oh boy… not this again." Ivan said as he let out a sigh.

Mia forced a smile in Ivan's direction, "I'm sorry Ivan, but Master Hamma wanted to know what exactly happened in the Jupiter Lighthouse. My side of the story ends there though, would you mind taking over? You did battle them after all." She said.

"What!? Battled who?!" Master Hamma said clearly worried.

Ivan sighed to himself again. "Don't worry about it sister, I'll fill you in. So Mia fell, and Garet jumped in after her. You know, he really has a bad habit of doing that! Anyway, after they both fell and landed on a ledge, Karst and Agatio walked out to me and Isaac and…" Ivan continued.

He continued speaking, recalling the events as they happened: the puzzles of the Jupiter Lighthouse being already solved, his fight alongside Isaac, Felix and his group showing up, the Jupiter beacon being lit, their discussion with Felix's group atop the lighthouse. Even their travel back to Contigo, which had mostly been uneventful, save for the random monster encounters.

"…and yeah. That is everything that happened in the last two days, and that is why we are making a feast; because Felix and his friends are coming over here to discuss their actions in lighting the lighthouses." Ivan concluded.

"I see. So my visions were correct, however clouded they may have been. It is good that you two groups have decided to respectfully discuss the important matters at hand." Master Hamma said.

"I agree! It was even Ivan's idea!" Mia added with a smile.

During the reminiscence of the events at Jupiter Lighthouse, the three of them had finished all the cooking. As the four of them were speaking, they had readied the dining table. They set all the dishes out in the center, and set the table for ten. As they finished setting the table, Isaac and Garet walked in to the kitchen as well.

"Wow! This looks great!" Garet said while licking his lips.

"No kidding! It smells delicious!" Isaac added.

"Now, now boys! Don't forget your manners; we still have to wait for Felix and his friends!" Mia said.

Both Garet and Isaac looked at each other clearly disappointed.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course! We wouldn't start without Felix!" Garet said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, I'm sure!" Mia said sarcastically.

It had been about fifteen minutes before the five of them heard the front door to the manor open.

"Hello? Anyone here?" A familiar voice asked.

"**Come in! We're in the kitchen!"** Isaac yelled back. He knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

They heard the door shut, and many sets of footsteps before Felix walked into the kitchen with Jenna, Sheba, Piers and Kraden behind him.

Many words were exchanged at the two parties meeting. The atmosphere changed immediately from a quiet calm kitchen, to a happy re-uniting festivity. Hugs were given freely, introductions were offered, and old friendships were rekindled. However, it was almost impossible to hear who asked what during the conversation.

"Felix! Good to see you again I'm glad you kept your promise…"

"Jenna! I'm so glad you're safe…"

"Mia! So nice to finally meet you..."

"What is your name? Piers you said? Good to meet you!..."

"Kraden! I want you to meet Ivan! You could probably learn a thing of two from this kid..."

"Master Hamma? Yes she is my sister…"

"Isaac, it's been a long time…"

"Sheba, you remember Isaac, Garet, and Mia..."

"Garet! I missed you and Isaac so much!..."

"Ivan! I was really worried about you back at the lighthouse! I'm glad you're alright!..."

"Piers! These are our childhood friends!..."

After the chaotic mess of words was exchanged, they all sat down to eat. Isaac and his group sat on one side of the table, while Felix and his group sat on the other side of the table. Master Hamma and Kraden took the two end seats to act as intermediaries between the two groups. The mood changed once again. However friendly and casual it may have been a few minutes earlier, this discussion was serious. Isaac and his friends wanted to know the reasons why Felix wanted to light the beacons of the lighthouses.

"So Felix… Why do you want to light the beacons? If you light the final beacon Alchemy will be unleashed upon the world, which will bring about the destruction of Weyard!" Isaac exclaimed.

"It is… complicated to say the least Isaac. There are many matters to discuss here, and I want to get them all out in the open. First of all, I originally took upon this task because my parent's lives were at stake."

"Your parents? But they are dead Felix… I saw it with my own eyes.." Garet said.

Jenna shook her head, "They are alive Garet… and so is your father Isaac…" she responded.

Isaac's eyes widened, **"WHAT!?" **he yelled, almost choking on a piece of food.

"Yes Isaac, both my parents and your father are alive. Saturos and Menardi kept all of us captive in Prox, and would only let us go if we lit the four beacons. No one perished in that storm on that terrible day. In fact, it was Saturos and Menardi who saved the four of us. They saw us floating unconscious in the river, and rescued us. If not for them, Venus knows what could have happened to us." Felix said.

Isaac remained silent, his eyes were still wide, but he was looking down into his lap.

"Isaac…" Jenna said gloomily.

"Wow… so they saved you, and we killed them…" Ivan said despairingly.

Felix shook his head, "No, they acted on their own accord. You were merely protecting yourselves. They did have a rather… quick temper. I was very surprised to see that you bested them in all honesty. I've experienced first-hand what they could do when I was captive in Prox. They were both mighty fire adepts and skilled warriors." He said.

"So where are your parents and Isaac's father now Felix?" Mia asked.

"They are all still in Prox, waiting for us to return." Felix responded.

"So once the final beacon is lit… the Proxians will let your parents and my father go?" Isaac finally asked.

"That is correct Isaac. However, there is also another reason why we are lighting the beacons. Kraden, Piers, would you mind explaining this?" Felix responded.

"Of course Felix! But I will let Piers say his bit first." Kraden responded.

Piers nodded, "If you have not already been told, I hail from Lemuria." He said.

Isaac and his friends' eyes widened at hearing this.

"Lemuria! We were tasked with finding that place for Lord Babi!" Garet interrupted.

"I surely hope he won't be upset with us for wrecking his ship!" Mia said.

"Ahh, yes. Babi…" Piers said.

Kraden let out a sigh, "Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia… Lord Babi is dead… Alex told us the news while we were in Champa. It seems his Lemurian Draught was not enough. You must understand; Lord Babi was old, older than you can imagine thanks to the draught. It is not surprising in the least that he finally died."

All of their eyes widened again.

"And how did Alex know this? Did he have anything to do with the "passing" of Lord Babi?" Ivan asked.

"He assured us he never touched Lord Babi. I do however trust Alex's word, despite how he acts, he would never go out and indiscriminately slay anybody… that is not in his nature." Kraden responded.

"That is true enough… I knew Alex longer than anybody here, he is my cousin after all. I have no clue what his motives are, but he would never kill anyone without good reason. Despite his actions, he is of the Mercury Clan, and he still follows our tenants…to a degree at least..." Mia said sadly. After she spoke, Garet put a consoling hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. She returned his smile acceptingly.

"So, you were saying Piers?" Isaac asked.

"Ahh yes! While we returned to Lemuria, we had council with the leader of Lemuria, King Hydros. Lunpa the Righteous Theif - so they call him - was also there." Piers said.

Yet again, Isaac and his companies' eyes widened.

"Oh this just keeps getting better and better!" Garet added.

"Lunpa!? He is still alive!? Does he have any idea what his grandson Dodonpa is doing back on Angara!?" Ivan retaliated.

Piers shook his head, "Lunpa sailed to Lemuria long ago. He has since cut off ties to the outside world. The only person he knew on the outside was Lord Babi. I honestly doubt he even knew he had a grandson… However, he wishes to remain there, despite any events that occur on the mainland." He responded.

"Well, we already sorted out that problem. Dodonpa ruled over the town of Lunpa as an evil thief. He kidnapped Lord Hammet, Ivan's foster father. We snuck into Lunpa, put a stop to Dodonpa, and saved Lord Hammet. He gives his father and his grandfather a bad name. " Isaac said.

"I see your intentions never change Isaac, always going out of your way to help people!" Sheba responded with a smile.

"**As I was saying**… we had a meeting with King Hydros and Lunpa. Looking at Lunpa's maps from the Golden Age, it is most obvious that Weyard itself is dying and decomposing."

Isaac and his friends looked at Piers clearly very confused.

"What do you mean? How could Weyard itself possibly be dying?" Master Hamma asked confused as well.

"We have a theory that is essentially proven by the maps we received from King Hydros and Lunpa. Listen closely. The four elements – earth, water, fire, and wind – compose all matter in Weyard. I assume you all know this by now?" Kraden asked. Everyone nodded in response.

"Seeing as how the lighthouses are meant to house the pure embodiment of each element – the four Elemental Stars – each feeds the world of Weyard energy, or sustenance. Since Alchemy has been sealed away, Weyard has been cut off from its source of vitality, and is slowly but surely corroding away." Kraden continued.

"If you'll take a look at our current map of Weyard, and compare it to Lunpa's map of Weyard in the Golden Age, you can clearly see the difference." Kraden said as he passed two maps to Isaac and his friends.

"Hmm… you're right Kraden. All of the continents used to be so much bigger, and there are many less islands as well." Isaac said as his companions got up out of their seats and looked over his shoulder at the two maps.

"But wasn't the reason why Alchemy was sealed away was to keep people from obtaining immense amounts of power?" Garet asked.

"That is correct Garet. However, if we sit by and do nothing, Weyard will gradually crumble into nothingness." Kraden finished.

"This is why Saturos and Menardi were so set on re-kindling the beacons of the lighthouses. Prox is to the far north, and is in danger of being swallowed up by the abyss that gradually creeps its way toward the rest of Weyard." Felix added.

"So let me get this straight... Since the lighthouses aren't lit, Weyard is dying. The only way to stop it from dying is to ignite the beacons of the four lighthouses once again. Saturos and Menardi only wanted to save Prox, and not try to obtain immense elemental power. Your parents and my father are alive, and will be set free once Mars Lighthouse is lit?" Isaac asked.

"All of what you just said is true." Felix responded.

"Man… now it seems like we've been the bad guys the whole time…" Isaac said shamefully.

Everybody remained silent and continued eating.

"Why didn't you just tell us before? We could have helped you from the beginning…" Isaac continued.

Kraden shook his head, "If it meant violating the teachings of Vale Isaac, you would have never agreed to cooperate that early into your quest. Now however, you have matured a substantial amount, and your reasoning is much better. Now you have two decisions set before you." He replied.

Isaac let out a deep sigh, "You are right again Kraden…But that leaves us with the choices, wait for Weyard to die? Or re-kindle the lighthouses and risk someone or something obtaining ultimate power to rule over Weyard?" He responded.

"We have thought this through, although you may not like it.." Sheba said.

"What's that Sheba?" Garet asked.

"We have decided that the Mars Lighthouse **needs **to be lit. We aren't about to just sit back and watch Weyard die. But, if the eight of us were to act as protectors of Weyard, it would be hard for anyone to achieve ultimate power if they had to go through all eight of us first." Sheba continued. Felix and his party nodded in agreement.

"That is indeed a good idea Sheba. Weyard will need wardens once the Lighthouses shine upon Weyard once again! Who better to protect Weyard from danger than you eight!?" Master Hamma exclaimed.

The eight of them all nodded in agreement.

"That settles it, we **will** help you light the Mars beacon Felix!" Isaac said with determination.

"With the eight of you now allies, you must make sure that the beacon of Mars is lit once more!" Master Hamma added.

All of them nodded once more.

Felix let out a huge sigh, "I am glad that we have sorted this whole thing out!" He said.

"I agree Felix! Now with the eight of us together, nothing will be able to stop us!" Garet added.

Jenna smiled, "I think this calls for a celebration!" she exclaimed. The others raised their glasses in agreement and cheered. Smiles present on all of their faces.

Master Hamma smiled to herself, "It is indeed a good thing that you have decided to work together, you could not stand have stood divided against the trials to come. You have much work ahead of you, but that can wait. The people of Contigo and I have given you a gift for your ship Felix, it will help you on your way to Prox and the Mars Lighthouse. However, it will not be ready until tomorrow." She said.

Felix raised an eyebrow at this, "A gift? It is not my ship, it belongs to Piers."

Piers lifted his hand and shook his head, "Who am I to decline your gift? I will accept it graciously." He said

Master Hamma nodded, "Do not worry about it for now, that can wait until tomorrow. But for now, celebrate! It has been the better portion of a year with you two groups as enemies! Tonight is a night for festivity and merriment! There are four extra rooms on the other side of the manor, Felix, you and your companions are all welcome to stay! I will take my leave now, as to let you all continue with your night." She said with a smile.

All of the adepts cheered once more, and started conversing. Another disordered mess of words was exchanged. As Master Hamma walked towards the front door of the manor, she stopped by Kraden and spoke quietly to him, as to not bring attention to herself. Not that any of them noticed anyway.

"Kraden, I would have words with you, I must speak to you of important matters back at my home. These young adepts have traveled long and hard and been through many trails as of late. They have just been reunited, and I do not wish to spoil their night with such talk of the things to come." She whispered to him.

Kraden nodded, "Of course Master Hamma, I would also rather not spoil their night with worries of the future. But what matters might they be?" He asked.

Master Hamma shook her head, "Come. Follow me back to my home, and we shall discuss there." She responded.

With that said, the two of them exited out the front door of the manor, and left the eight adepts to themselves.

* * *

Master Hamma and Kraden had left a couple hours ago. As with any nice place filled with young teenagers and a lack of adults (minus Piers of course) the eight of them completely took advantage of the situation. Occasions like these very rarely occurred, and whenever they presented themselves, all of them took benefit of it. They had just been reunified after all.

Each of them had their respective drinks: all of the Valeans as well as Ivan had mugs filled with Contigan ale they had picked up in the marketplace the other day. Sheba and Mia had goblets of fine Laliveran wine, as Sheba had brought a bottle of it with her. Meanwhile, Piers had a stein full of his favorite Lemurian mead, which he brought plenty of before Felix and his group left Lemuria.

Felix and Isaac were in the living room talking amongst themselves.

"So how was it? Up there in Prox for three years?" Isaac asked Felix.

"Well… it was rough to say the least. Saturos taught me swordsmanship during my stay though. I am thankful for that at least. He bested me many times when we were practicing with wooden sparing swords. He was ruthless, even when he disarmed me; he attacked me continually with the wooden blade. He said I would never toughen up if I couldn't learn to handle myself. I had new bruises just about every day." Felix responded.

"Oh man… that sounds awful. I bet you're one hell of a swordsman now though!" Isaac replied taking a swig of his ale.

"Hah! I guess you could say that. But Menardi also taught me to focus my psynergy. She taught me the Proxian ways to concentrate and meditate while in the midst of combat to amplify psynergy. She was just as brutal as Saturos during her training sessions with me. Bruises and burns do not mix well in the least!" Felix responded while taking a drink of his own ale.

"So… are all Proxians like that? Callous and cruel like Saturos, Menardi, Agatio and Karst?" Isaac asked.

"No, not at all actually. That is a great misconception. Proxians are some of the nicest people you would ever meet. Those four are exceptions; they must act that way because they are warriors. Their duty to Prox comes first, before anything; even personal needs. Proxian warriors are supposed to be cold and irate so they do not get distracted during battle. It is a more disciplined way of fighting." Felix retorted.

"I see... that would explain why Proxian warriors are very skilled combatants… me and Ivan almost got killed by Agatio and Karst… Thanks by the way, Felix. I never thanked you properly for saving our lives!" Isaac said scratching the back of his head and taking another swig of ale.

Felix shook his head, "Think nothing of it Isaac. I was not about to sit idly by and watch you die. You were once... no, you **are **one of my best friends." He responded.

"I'm glad you say that Felix. Three years apart has changed nothing about our friendship!" Isaac said with a grin, clapping a hand on Felix's shoulder.

Felix let out sigh, "Three long years. Three years my sister thought her whole family was dead…" He said solemnly. He and Isaac then looked in Jenna's direction and saw the biggest smile they had seen in a long time. She turned, met their gaze and waved at them with a smile. Both of them waved back and returned her smile.

"This is the happiest I've seen her since we were young, Isaac." Felix said smiling.

"It is nice to see her smile again! I haven't even seen her for the better part of a year… even when I did you guys were always running from us." Isaac said.

"I hope you watched over and kept her company in my absence Isaac. Three years is a very long time, and if I know my sister, she would have been balling her eyes out a lot." Felix said sternly, while taking a drink of his ale.

"Of course Felix, I was with her pretty much every day! You know she even forgot her own **birthday** one year!? That was the year we both had our first kiss… Uhh, oh shit…" Isaac's eyes widened. He didn't mean to say that, but it slipped out in his buzzed rambling.

Felix laughed, "Honestly Isaac I'm not surprised to hear that in the least bit. I always had a feeling that you two would end up together. With the way you two played as kids it was kind of obvious, and the way she talked about you during our travels… she missed you dearly Isaac. But don't worry about a thing. I approve of you two; I wouldn't have anyone else with my little sister than my closest friend." Felix responded while downing the rest of his drink.

Isaac let out an enormous sigh, "Man, and here I thought you frowned upon Jenna dating anyone! I thought for sure you would kill me! But thank you Felix, that means a lot." He said.

"Don't get me wrong though, if you try _**anything funny**_, at least when anyone else is around, I won't hesitate to beat you senseless." Felix responded firmly.

"I would never do that Felix, you have my word." Isaac replied resolutely. Felix nodded in response.

They then both walked over to the frost encrusted barrels (as Mia and Piers had casted Frost on them to keep the liquid inside them cold) and refilled their mugs with ale.

"So… did you uhh, meet anyone up in Prox?" Isaac asked awkwardly.

Felix just laughed once again, "I'm not sure you will approve of this one, she's quite the gal."

"Who might that be?" Isaac asked curiously.

"You've met her before… her name is Karst…" Felix said calmly.

While Felix said this, Isaac was taking a drink of his ale. Upon hearing that name he spit out a large mouthful of his beverage.

"**WHAT!?" **he yelled.

"Hey, I said you might not approve!" Felix said shrugging.

"Felix! She tried to **kill **me! She tried to **kill **you! How are you two… oh forget it." Isaac retaliated.

Felix laughed once again, "Look Isaac. Even though she may look like a heartless witch on the outside, she is soft on the inside. I got to know her back in Prox. Between training sessions with Saturos and Menardi, she was the one who helped me recover. She didn't always do it in the nicest ways, but she cared. I know that much. Some nights we would both sneak off to spent time with each other. Neither of us dared tell either Saturos or Menardi. I doubt Agatio even knows about us. She takes her duties very seriously though. For her, Prox and her people come before anything, and I mean **anything**.Since the death of Saturos and Menardi, those two are essentially the mightiest fire adepts in Prox, and she is duty bound to help them." Felix responded.

"Man… tonight is just filled with mindfucks…" Isaac said while looking down. Felix simply laughed harder and continued drinking.

They noticed the others were done with their card game, and so Felix and Isaac both made their way back into the kitchen.

* * *

While Felix and Isaac had gone off to the living room to discuss who knows what, the rest of the adepts were in the kitchen. They had set all the beverage containers on the counter, and cleared off the dining table to play card games on. Sheba and Mia were having a discussion off on the far side of the kitchen.

"So, who wants to play a good ol' game of _Ementus_!?" Garet said as he returned from his room with a deck of cards in his hand.

"I haven't played that game since Lunpa taught me in Lemuria long ago! Count me in!" Piers said ecstatically while taking a seat.

"I'll join you, I love this card game." Ivan responded while sitting down.

"I suppose I'll play with you boys." Jenna said with a smile and sat down at the table.

Garet took a seat at the table and started shuffling the cards. After he was satisfied that the cards had been shuffled enough, he passed out six cards to everybody. He put the rest of the deck in the center of the table. Each of them also put five gold coins on the table. Whoever won the game received all the coins.

After each of them picked up their six cards, Jenna, Piers, Garet, and Ivan were all eying each other wearily. Each of them had cards held up to their faces.

"Well Garet, go on, the shuffler takes the first turn." Piers said. After Piers spoke, Garet played a card with a symbol of Fire on it.

"Ohh, sorry Garet! But Nereid beats Mars." Jenna said as she tossed down a card with the symbol of a turtle on it.

"That may be the case. However, Tiamat defeats Nereid if I am correct." Piers said as he threw down a card with the symbol of a dragon on it.

Ivan smiled, "Well, now all of you lose, because Ulysses beats Tiamat! Looks like all of you drink!" He said as he tossed down a card with the symbol of a scroll with strange characters written on it.

Piers, Jenna and Garet then all took a large mouthful of their drinks. Ivan took the four cards that were played, and laid them face down in front of him.

"Alright Jenna, it's your turn to go." Garet said.

Jenna drew a card from the center deck and eyed her cards carefully. After a moment of thought, she played a card with a symbol of Sol on it.

"Ahh, hell. Looks like you win this lot." Ivan said as Garet, Ivan, and Piers all handed Jenna random cards from their hands.

"Drink up boys!" Jenna said cheerfully as she laid the cards face down in front of her. After she said this, she noticed Felix and Isaac look in her direction. She smiled and waved at them, and they returned the gesture.

The boys then took big swigs of their brews.

"I believe it is my turn to lead?" Piers said as he drew a card from the center pile. Piers then looked over his cards carefully. After a moment of thought, he played a card with the picture of a Zombie on it.

"Easy enough." Garet responded as he tossed down a card with the picture of a Skeleton on it.

"Pfft, that's all you got?!" Jenna said as she laid down a card with the picture of a Troll on it.

Ivan laughed, "Sorry Jenna, but I win this lot!" He said as he tossed down a card with the symbol of a Golem on it.

"Dammit Ivan! Why do you have to ruin my hands!?" Jenna responded.

"I'm sorry Jenna, but I shall drink with you on this one, cheers!" Ivan said as they all clanged their glasses together and took large swallows of their respective beverages. Ivan then took the four cards that were played and put them face down in front of him.

"My turn." Ivan said as he drew a card from the deck. Ivan glanced over his cards several times, and then played a card with the symbol of a man wielding a sword.

Piers looked over his cards, and then played a card with the symbol of a man raising his hand in the air with blue beams coming from it.

"Mercury Adept defeats Warrior!" Piers claimed.

"Yes, but Jupiter Adepts match Mercury Adepts!" Garet claimed as he played a card that looked similar, but instead the beams were purple.

"I got nothing." Jenna said disappointed, as she surrendered a random card from her hand and put it face down on the table.

"Well Garet, let's see who wins this lot!" Piers said as he put his entire hand face down on the table. Garet then did the same. After their hands were on the table, Garet pointed to a random face down card from Piers's hand. Piers copied Garet, and they both flipped them over.

The picture on the card Garet had chosen was a symbol of the moon, otherwise known as Luna.

"**DAMN**! How am I supposed to beat that!?" Garet yelled.

The card Piers had chosen had a picture of a whale, which was the symbol for Neptune.

"Well, looks like I win this lot! Cheers!" Piers said as he grabbed all the cards on the table and laid them face down in front of him. He then chimed his glasses against everyone else's and they all drank once more.

"Now I'm starting to regret ever wanting to play this game…" Garet said. The other three merely laughed at his statement. Garet and Piers drew new hands of six cards each from the center deck.

"It's your turn right Garet?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah, yeah hold on!" Garet responded as he drew a card. He eyed them over, then played a card with a huge red rock on it. In _Ementus, _this is the symbol for Meteor.

"Finally a good hand!" Garet claimed.

"I cannot best that one." Piers said as he put a random card facedown.

"Yep, I can't either." Jenna said as she did the same thing.

"Yeah, no dice for me either." Ivan said as he repeated the two before him.

"All right! Finally I win a lot! All of you drink!" Garet said. All of them once again brought the glasses together, and downed a mouthful of their liquors.

This game continued on until all the cards in the center deck were gone. Each of them had refilled their mugs several times, and by the time the game was over, all four of them were quite tipsy.

Ivan had won the game, as he had the most cards in his pile. Piers came in a very close second, but Jenna was only a few cards behind in third place. Garet came in last, with the least amount of cards by a substantial amount.

"Whenever ..._hic…_ we play _Ementus _it seems that Ivan always wins…" Garet said.

Ivan shrugged, "Luck of the …hic… draw I guess." He responded.

"That could be true…_hic…_ or maybe you just suck at _Ementus _Garet!" Jenna laughed.

"Well that's not very …_hic… _nice Jenna!" Garet responded.

"A close game! ..._hic…_ That was indeed enjoyable! We shall do this again on another occasion!" Piers added. All of them nodded with drunken smiles on their faces.

"Jenna, we should go find our rooms, before we lose ourselves to the point where we cannot find them!" he said.

"A fine idea Piers! Let's _…hic…_ go!" Jenna responded giggling.

All of them got up from the table and went their separate ways. Jenna and Piers went to go check out (or even find) their rooms. Garet and Ivan walked over to the barrels to refill their mugs.

_Hehe! Twenty coins richer! _Ivan thought to himself. Little did they know Ivan had been reading their minds the entire time. He didn't do this a lot, but it was fun for him to every now and then. They could not detect his psynergy after all. Plus it was only five coins each. How much harm could that have done?

_Maybe with this I can get something nice for Sheba… She did kinda help save me after all… _he said to himself as he looked in her direction. She was having a conversation with Mia. Her cheeks were a bright pinkish-red However, she noticed Ivan glance in her direction and she smiled and waved to him.

Ivan smiled and waved back, but noticed that Mia was giggling. Sheba then gave Mia a light hit to the arm, and her cheeks reddened even more. Ivan smiled while his cheeks did the same.

"So!..._hic…_ You and Sheba huh!?" Garet said elbowing Ivan friendly.

"Huh? Uhh… I don't know_...hic…_ what you're talking about Garet." Ivan responded.

"Ivan, **really**!? It's seriously more obvious than like… Isaac and Jenna!" Garet responded.

Ivan sighed, "You know I really hate you sometimes Garet… but you're right." Ivan said.

"I know, that's what I'm here for!" Garet said laughing and taking a drink from his mug.

"But how do you go about talking about_…hic…_ things like that?" Ivan asked.

"I dunno man, you tell me! You were always saying how not awkward it was between you two since you could read each other's minds! If anything that makes it a whole hell of a lot simpler!" Garet replied.

"Well, being an adept, she can shield her mind from anything I try to read. But it's so difficult! What if she doesn't feel the same way!?" Ivan retorted.

"Well, you're never gunna find out if you don't ask my friend…_hic…_" Garet said, taking another drink from his mug.

"True enough.. but that's easy for you to say. You are older than I am." Ivan returned.

"Oh c'mon man! I had my first relationship when I was your age; Isaac was your age when he and Jenna had their first kiss! This is like, the perfect time **and **opportunity for you to go! So man up and **GO**!" Garet said as he nudged Ivan forward.

"You know what. I'm gunna do it Garet! Thank you for your uhh… pep talk I guess." Ivan said.

"No problem. Go get 'em champ…_hic…_!" Garet said, finishing the last of his drink. He then turned around and filled his mug up again.

_Oh Jupiter, I hope I don't make an ass of myself…_ Ivan thought to himself. He then took a deep breath and started to make his way over to Sheba and Mia.

* * *

Felix and Isaac had gone into the living room to talk. Piers, Jenna, Ivan and Garet were playing _Ementus_. This left Sheba and Mia to themselves on the far side of the kitchen to talk to each other. They only times they had met were on top of the Venus Lighthouse, and very briefly in the Jupiter Lighthouse. What better time to get to know each other than now?

"This wine is quite delightful Sheba! Thank you for allowing me to drink with you!" Mia said with a smile

"Don't worry about it Mia, I have plenty of this back in Lalivero, I figured I would bring a few bottles of it with me for occasions like these!" Sheba responded.

"So how your journey been? Surely your group must have been through many adventures as much as my group? We heard tales of your deeds throughout the Great Eastern Sea pretty much wherever we went!" Mia asked.

"I don't even know where to begin! Umm… well I'm not going to go into detail for everything; we would be here all night! But to summarize everything: we stopped the Pirate Briggs, who wasn't even really bad to begin with. We helped Piers get the control mechanism to his ship back, so we could use it to sail. We obtained psynergies from the Elemental Rocks wherever we went…" Sheba said.

"Pirates? Elemental Rocks? That does sound like quite the adventure!" Mia added while sipping from her goblet.

"Yeah, and that's not even all of it! We also reforged the ancient Tridel of Ankohl which allowed us to defeat the sea god Poseidon and gain entry to Lemuria. That is when we learned what is really going on with the lighthouse situation. After Lemuria we went to Hesperia to get another type of psynergy to help us get through the Jupiter Lighthouse. When we finished solving the Jupiter Lighthouse, that's when we met up with you guys." Sheba finished, as she took a large drink from her goblet.

"In a way, that sounds kinda like our quest actually! It's so strange… I remember meeting you very briefly in Tolbi, who knew we would end up here of all places!" Mia said laughing.

"I do remember meeting your entire group! I was rather shy at that point, but adventuring has really taken my shyness away! But it is rather funny how we did end up here!" Sheba responded.

"So is it true that you can also read minds like Ivan?" Mia asked curiously.

Sheba nodded, "It is indeed true. It can really be a pain at times, but honestly, I love having the ability. It's one of my defining features after all!" Sheba responded.

"So what would you say is on my mind right now?" Mia asked.

Sheba closed her eyes for a second and smiled before opening them again, "You and Garet! Jupiter! I would have never expected that one! What a predicament you and Garet were in when you kissed and Isaac, Ivan and Hamma showed up!" Sheba laughed, and then took a gulp of her wine.

Mia blushed a little, "Yes, yes! That was pretty humiliating! You had almost the same episode with Ivan back in the Jupiter Lighthouse though!" Mia laughed as she took a drink of her wine.

Sheba's cheeks instantly turned a bright shade of pinkish-red, "Wha- what do you mean Mia? Ivan and I didn't have an 'episode'!"

"Oh come now Sheba! I saw you about to cry because Ivan was hurt! I know you and Ivan spent a great deal of time together back in Tolbi! Ivan talked about you quite often during our travels!" Mia said.

"Di.. Did he? Well.. of course! Ivan and I are good friends is all…" Sheba responded.

"Clearly you were very worried about him back in the lighthouse, it was rather sweet actually!" Mia added.

"Well.. were.. weren't **you** worried about Ivan as well!?" Sheba retaliated, her face still flushed with pinkish-red.

"Of course I was worried about him! But geez Sheba, there is no need to be so defensive!" Mia said mockingly.

At that moment, Sheba noticed Ivan looking in her direction, so she gave him a smile and a wave. Ivan returned the gesture, and continued talking with Garet.

Mia noticed this, and simply crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and smiled intensely at Sheba waiting for a response.

"**OKAY FINE! **So what if I like him! It's not like anything will become of it anyway!" Sheba blurted out, while hitting Mia lightly on the arm. She then downed the rest of her wine and poured more into her goblet.

"**I knew it!** I knew it!-I knew it!-I knew it! You two would make such a cute couple!" Mia exclaimed, putting her hands together and bringing them to her face while giggling.

Sheba got an excited look on her face, "You think so?! I guess I never supposed Ivan thought about me in that manner. He was a very good friend to me in Tolbi but…"

"He is indeed a good friend, and after traveling with him for so long, I'm sure that he has his eyes set on you Sheba!" Mia said with a smile.

"Why must you taunt me with such talk?" Sheba asked as she facepalmed.

"Well, that's what friends are for!" Mia said, taking a drink of her wine.

"Oh Gods! He's coming over here! Mia! What do I do!?" Sheba asked clearly flustered.

Mia turned around and saw Ivan walking their way. She smiled an enormous smile before she turned back to Sheba and said, "Have fun, and good luck Sheba!"

With that she got out of her seat, and started walking toward Garet. Mia winked at Ivan as she passed by him.

"Mia! Don't leave!" Sheba said quietly in desperation.

"Hello Sheba! Mind if I join you?" Ivan asked.

"Oh hello Ivan! No, of course not!" Sheba responded.

_Oh Jupiter. I am going to embarrass myself soooooooo bad… _Sheba thought to herself.

* * *

Isaac and Felix had walked into the kitchen the same time Mia had made her way over to Garet. The two Venus adepts got back just in time to see Mia and Garet pecking each other lightly on the lips.

"Wait… when did those two start dating?" Felix asked very confused.

"A few days ago actually. I'm happy for them, not to sound cliché, but they look kinda cute together don't ya think?" Isaac asked laughing.

After Isaac spoke, Garet and Mia separated, and they both noticed Felix and Isaac standing not five feet away from them.

"Felix! It's been a long time man!" Garet said as he walked over to Felix and embraced him.

"It truly has Garet! I can see you have not changed much!" Felix responded while letting out a laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Garet laughed as he gave Felix a light punch in the arm. "Naa I'm just kiddin! But seriously though, it's good to be on the same team again!" Garet added.

Felix nodded, "I couldn't agree more Garet." He said with a smile.

"Well? Aren't you going to introduce me Garet?" Mia asked with her hands on her hips.

"Oh. **OHH**. Right! Felix, this is my girlfriend Mia! Mia, this is one of my best friends, Felix! You've met before… but not in the best of circumstances." Garet said while scratching the back of his head.

"It is a pleasure Mia! I am sorry we did not first meet under the proper conditions!" Felix said shaking Mia's hand with a smile.

"It is no problem Felix. The pleasure is all mine!" Mia responded as she mirrored the gesture.

At that moment Jenna ran out into the kitchen and jumped onto Isaac's back, essentially forcing a piggy-back ride on Isaac. Piers walked out soon after.

As Jenna jumped onto Isaac's back she whispered into his ear, "I missed you so much Isaac… you have no idea…" She embraced him tighter from behind, and smiled a very wide smile.

"My friends! Come! I must play a Lemurian tune for you on this night of celebration!" Piers said as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Oh? What instrument do you play Piers?" Mia asked.

"I learned to play many instruments during my time in Lemuria, however tonight I will be playing the fiddle. Bring drinks if you wish, and be prepared to dance!" Piers responded as he left down the hallway.

Mia and Jenna looked at each other, their faces beaming with excitement. Garet and Isaac looked at each other, and sighed. Felix saw all four of the reactions on their faces and laughed very hard.

Garet and Isaac both hated dancing. Their parents had made them go to dances back in Vale whenever there was a special occasion. Kay, Jenna, and all the girls always had fun at them, but Garet and Isaac always loathed them.

Garet and Isaac were both mediocre dancers at best. Felix shared their hate for dances, but despite his feelings towards them, he was actually very graceful when it came to dancing.

Jenna jumped off of Isaac's back, "Shebs! Come and dance with us!" she shouted as she looked around, but Sheba and Ivan were both nowhere to be found.

"Now where could she have gone off to?" Jenna asked scratching her head.

"Well that's odd, her and Ivan were just here a moment ago." Mia responded also looking around.

Those words made Jenna smile, "**I KNEW IT! **I'm gunna make fun of her so much for giving me so much shit about Isaac!" she exclaimed. Mia smiled and laughed at those words.

"Oh boy…" Felix said to himself while letting out a sigh.

"Oh well, c'mon boys! Piers is waiting for us!" Jenna said excitedly as she grabbed Isaac's hand and bolted towards the hallway Piers had gone through. Mia did the same thing with Garet and Felix was left standing alone.

Felix merely laughed to himself and smiled. He missed this kind of thing. All of his friends, old and new, were all together. For once, they didn't need to hurry to the next destination. For once, they were able to enjoy the simple things in life. For once, Felix was honestly, truly happy for the first time since his disappearance in Vale.

He walked over to the barrels to refill his mug with ale. After his mug was filled once again with cold ale, he walked towards the hallway which his friends had previously gone through.

* * *

When Isaac, Garet, Jenna, and Mia made their way down the hallway, they noticed there was a large doorway with no door in the frame. This let to what looked like a large dining room, but there was no table or chairs in it, it was empty. The room was dimly lit with candles, and sticks of Contigan incense burned in all corners of the room, making it smell like a garden.

Piers was standing near the middle of the room tuning his fiddle.

"Just in time my friends! The music will start soon, fear not." He said with a smile.

"Well… that was a very fast change of scenery." Isaac claimed, scratching the back of his head.

"No kidding. I can honestly say I didn't even know this room was here." Garet replied.

"How romantic! What a perfect way to spend this evening!" Mia said with a smile while she looked around and smelled the air.

"I couldn't agree with you more if I wanted to Mia." Jenna responded, doing the same thing as Mia.

Without warning, Piers started playing his fiddle. He was playing a slow tune, enough to set the scene even more idealistically.

Jenna and Mia both put their arms over their respective boys' shoulders. Isaac and Garet responded by putting their hands on their respective girls' hips. All of them were slow dancing, enjoying the moment. It seemed the four of them had not a care in the world.

Isaac's soft blue eyes met Jenna's caring reddish brown eyes.

Garet's fiery auburn eyes met Mia's gentle light blue eyes.

Both of the couples kissed passionately, and they drew even closer to each other. Now they were dancing mostly embracing one another, rather than separated at an armslength.

As the couples were slow dancing, they heard someone walk down the hallway. All four of them looked to the doorway. They all saw Felix walk by, but as he walked by, he pointed at Isaac and said, "Remmber Isaac, _**nothing funny**_!"

"Oh **shut up** Felix!" Jenna scolded her brother. Felix simply shrugged and walked into his room.

Garet, Mia, and even Piers laughed when this happened. Isaac and Jenna merely blushed.

After about half an hour of playing, Piers finally stopped. The candles in the room had burned very low, and the incense had singed out completely.

"I am sorry friends, but I can play no longer. My arms grow tired and my mind weary." He said as he let out a yawn.

"It's okay Piers! Thank you for playing for us!" Jenna said as she walked over to him and gave him a long hug.

"Yes, indeed Piers! Your playing made my evening!" Mia said as she walked over to Piers and gave him a long hug as well.

Piers wrapped an arm over each of them, "Think nothing of it! I merely wanted to make a nice evening nicer for my friends! Old and new." He said smiling.

After the girls finished hugging him, Isaac and Garet walked over to Piers. Garet clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you Piers, I am not one for dancing, but that was actually very… nice." He said

Isaac nodded, "Indeed Piers, you are quite the fiddle player! And thank you." Isaac said.

Piers's face beamed with pride, "Thank you Garet, Isaac! Enjoy the rest of your evening, for I am going to retire to my room, and get some sleep." He said.

The four of them nodded, and watched as Piers exited the dining room, and went into his room, closing the door behind him.

"Let's… go to your room Isaac." Jenna said with a smile

"Shall we make our way to your room Garet?" Mia asked. Garet simply nodded.

"Mia, we should look for Shebs first, you guys go ahead, we'll meet up in a little bit." Jenna said.

Isaac and Garet shrugged to each other, and walked out of the dining room back into the kitchen to grab some more ale, and then went into their respective rooms.

"I really wonder where she could have gone." Mia said.

"Dunno. We should check her room first though." Jenna replied.

As the previous members of the group had done, the two girls exited the dining room, and made their way to the door that led to Sheba's room.

Jenna twisted the knob, and opened the door with Mia behind her. What they saw made both of their jaws drop. Sheba and Ivan were sitting on the bed, embracing each other, and kissing very fervently. They didn't hear or even notice the door open because they were so preoccupied.

Jenna and Mia looked at each other, both with expressions of happiness, excitement and surprise. They were both very happy and excited for both Ivan and Sheba. They were also very surprised that this had… well… happened.

Jenna slowly closed the door as silently as possible, as to not disturb the two young wind adepts. When the door was finally closed all the way, Jenna and Mia made their way into the kitchen and burst into laughter.

"I don't even know what to say! All I know is that I am gunna give her such a hard time tomorrow because of all the crap she gave me about Isaac!" Jenna said while laughing.

"I am happy for the both of them, they completely deserve each other!" Mia responded while giggling.

After a while, Jenna finally regained her composure, "Well, Isaac is waiting for me. It was so nice to meet you Mia!" she said as she gave Mia a friendly hug.

"Garet is waiting for me as well. Oh it was so nice to finally meet you Jenna! Isaac talked about you all the time, he was worried sick!" Mia responded returning the hug.

"Did he? How sweet. I'll see you tomorrow morning!" Jenna said as she walked to the door to Isaac's room.

"Indeed, have a good night!" Mia responded as she walked over to the door leading to Garet's room.

* * *

It's getting a little loud in here with all of them, you wanna go outside Sheba?" Ivan asked.

"Sure, it's getting a little stuffy in here anyway!" Sheba responded.

They headed out the front door of the manor, walked a good distance away, and laid in the grass outside. They both lay there with their hands behind their heads looking at the night sky.

"The moon sure is bright tonight." Ivan said.

"Mmhmm. It is most beautiful." Sheba replied.

Both of them went silent after that short bit of words, reading each other's thoughts. This was one of the main ways they communicated when they wanted to enjoy silence, or speak without speaking, so to say. They sat there for what seemed to be the better portion of an hour, reading each other's thoughts before Ivan noticed something odd.

"_Something is bothering you Sheba. I can sense it within your thoughts; something is blocked from me, what is the matter?" Ivan said._

"_What do you mean? I am blocking nothing from you." Sheba responded._

"_You're lying. I can tell when you lie, I am in your mind after all." Ivan replied_

"_Oh stop it Ivan! It is nothing… really." Sheba answered._

"_So what? You are allowed to review every single one of my thoughts but I am not allowed in yours? I hardly see how that is fair." Ivan said._

"_Yep. That's exactly how it is." Sheba retorted._

"_You keep reviewing the thoughts of when Master Hamma revealed that she was my sister. I fear I know why you are upset Sheba…" Ivan continued._

"_Alright then, tell me. Why am I upset?" Sheba asked._

Ivan let out a long sigh, _"I know how you talked about finding out about your real family. That was one of your favorite subjects back in Tolbi. I know you care deeply for Faran, though he is not your 'real' father. You joined Felix, not only to help save Weyard, but also hoping you would find some answers as to who you are…"_

Ivan noticed Sheba shudder, and he felt her emotions stir in her mind.

"…_This place is home to Jupiter adepts, and the ancient civilization of the Anemos. You thought you would find answers here, that you would find out about your past… but you found nothing... You found nothing and you seek consolation within the thoughts of my sister revealing my heritage." Ivan finished._

After Ivan finished his thoughts Sheba instantly started sobbing into Ivan's chest. Ivan brought her into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry you didn't find anything Sheba…" Ivan said.

Sheba wrapped her arms around Ivan, "It's not fair Ivan! Everybody gets reunited with their friends and family… and what does little Sheba get!? **Nothing**! That's what!" She cried into his chest.

"I have felt the same pain Sheba, and I know it hurts, but you must know: you have friends that care for you like a family would." Ivan responded.

"Why was I just abandoned Ivan!? Am I just not good enough?" Her sobbing only worsened.

"Of course you're good enough! Sheba, you may not have found your family, but you're looking in the wrong places! You already have a family, me and the other six inside are your family." Ivan said, while patting her back.

"I feel so _alone_ Ivan… you have found out about your real family, but there are no traces anywhere of mine!" She cried.

"You are not _alone _Sheba, I will **always** be here for you." Ivan responded.

She only sobbed harder, not saying anything else. Ivan decided to just let her cry to calm herself down. Eventually Sheba's sobs quieted down, although tears were still running down her cheeks. She was still held in Ivan's arms in a snug embrace.

"Ivan…" she said quietly as she looked into his deep purple eyes.

"Yes Sheba?" he returned, looking into her bright emerald eyes.

"Will you **always** be there for me?" She asked.

"I will be by your side as long as you need me." Ivan replied with a smile, wiping a tear from her cheek.

Sheba smiled back at him, and closed her eyes as she moved her lips closer to his. Ivan closed his eyes in return, and their lips pressed against each other. This had been both of their first kisses. However, it wasn't awkward in the least. Both of them felt completely natural when it happened.

Sheba smiled a heartfelt smile at Ivan, who returned the smile, and then she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"_This is definitely better than finding out about my past…" Sheba said._

"_I am glad you feel that way." Ivan responded._

"_I could not imagine being able to go through this without you Ivan… thank you." Sheba said._

"_Don't mention it Sheba. I am just glad that you feel the same way about me as I do for you." Ivan replied._

Sheba yawned after a little while.

"_It's getting late; we should probably head back inside." Ivan said._

"_Yes we should. Would you… care to join me in my room Ivan?" Sheba asked_

This question took Ivan by complete surprise. He was not expecting that at all.

"_Of course! Lead the way." Ivan responded. _

Sheba then got up and extended a hand towards Ivan to help him up. He accepted the help up, and Sheba grabbed his hand, and interlocked their fingers. Ivan smiled when he felt Sheba's fingers intertwined with his own.

They made their way down the hallway towards Sheba's room, they heard a fiddle playing from somewhere down the hall, but that didn't interest them in the least. Sheba opened the door to her room, they both walked in, and closed the door behind them. They then both sat on the bed.

They shared another deep gaze into each other's eyes, then they embraced and started kissing once more. This time it was definitely more zealous for the both of them. They both introduced their tongues to each other.

_Am I supposed to do this with my tongue? Oh whatever…_ Ivan thought to himself

_What do I do with my tongue…? Oh! That is nice!... _Sheba thought to herself.

Both of them let themselves enjoy the moment. They didn't even notice the door open to see Jenna and Mia's faces. They were much to sidetracked with what they should do with their tongues to care about anything else at that moment.

* * *

Mia waltzed into Garet's room with a wide smile beaming on her face and a skip in her step. Garet was already lying down in the bed half asleep when he noticed Mia snuggle up to him. Garet noticed her smile was bigger than usual, and it led him into curiosity.

"You seem… very happy. What's up?" Garet asked.

"Tonight has been such a wonderful night. Friends, music, dancing, and you Garet!" She responded.

He smiled, "Yeah I can definitely agree with you there Mia."

"So you'll never guess what I just saw!" Mia stated

"Umm… what?" Garet asked.

"I'll give you a hint: they are both short, blonde, and Jupiter adepts." Mia replied.

Garets face lit up at hearing this, "You mean!? Aww yeah! My man did it! You shoulda heard the pep talk I gave him! I bet it inspired him!" Garet said in triumph.

Mia laughed, "I was talking to Sheba about them earlier as well. I am quite happy for them!" she said.

With that, the both them went silent and snuggled closer to one another. Garet blew out the candle on the nightstand, and they kissed for a while before drifting to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jenna entered Isaac's room with a huge smile on her face. Isaac noticed her walk in. Isaac was also half asleep on the bed, and put an arm over Jenna as she cuddled up to him. They sat in silence for a long time, enjoying the moment.

Isaac finally broke the silence, "Thank you… for saving me back at the lighthouse Jenna." He said.

Jenna responded by kissing him. They did this for a short while before Jenna pulled away and said, "In my hour of need, you were there for me… always. Now it's my turn to be there for you… always."

After she said this, they went silent and continued caressing each other and smooching for a long time. After they grew tired and their lips retreated from one another, Isaac blew out the candle on the nightstand, and they both fell asleep; happy that they finally had one another in each other's arms once again.

* * *

Kraden and Master Hamma had left the eight adepts to themselves, and made their way to Hamma's house not too far away from the manor. They had left a long while ago. They both walked in the front door, Hamma's house was nearly was nice as the manor, it was simply a smaller version of it.

Candles and lanterns adorned the walls, as did decorations of Contigan lineage.

"Please, sit Kraden. May I offer you some Contigan liquor?" Master Hamma said while sitting down in a large chair.

"Oh no, no Master Hamma, I am fine for now." Kraden responded while taking a seat in a chair opposite of Master Hamma.

"Please Kraden, call me Hamma. I am used to only students calling me by that name. It would be as if I referred to you as Scholar Kraden." Hamma replied.

"If you insist, Hamma. So what was it you wanted to talk to me about? Troubles of the future or so you say?" Kraden asked.

"Oh Kraden… it is most terrible. I had visions about those eight adepts. Again my visions were hazy, but I received all of the ideas which came with them." Hamma said with a dreadful look on her face.

Kraden gave her a curious look, "Just what exactly did you foresee?"

"Kraden… those eight will not succeed in igniting the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse…" Hamma said hanging her head.

Kraden's eyes grew wide at hearing this, "What!? Whatever do you mean?"

"Whatever awaits them on the aerie of Mars is much too powerful for them to handle." Hamma said.

"How is that possible!? I've seen first-hand what all eight of them can do, united they would be a force to be reckoned with!" Kraden responded.

Hamma shook her head, "I saw them… their lifeless, bloodied bodies on the floor of the aerie. Only one among them stood, I could not say which one of the eight it was. However, as the one adept stood, so did the great enemy."

"As I've heard Hamma, your visions are never wrong. However, there must be a way for them to succeed at their task. If those eight cannot light the beacon, no one in Weyard can light the beacon. Those eight are Weyards only hope." Kraden responded.

"Two people are preparing to venture fourth into the Mars Lighthouse to attempt to light the beacon. They will not succeed either. Those two currently possess the Star of Mars." Hamma said.

"That must be Karst and Agatio… Felix told us that they stole the Star from him while they were on the aerie of Jupiter." Kraden responded.

"A terrible fate awaits them, as it is intertwined with the eight, although I have no idea how.  
Whatever force is at work with my visions, it does not want me to glimpse at the future. The visions I have had about all the Lighthouses have all been clouded. " Hamma said.

"There still must be a way to help them. If they do not carry out their task, Weyard itself is doomed indefinitely." Kraden replied.

"There is one thing I have yet to mention… well five things actually." Hamma said.

"What might those five things be Hamma?" Kraden asked.

"Do you know anything about stone tablets Kraden? I saw four of them in a vision; I have no idea what they are for or what they mean." Hamma state.

Kraden nodded, "The stone tablets we have encountered either teach a form of very useful psynergy, or have ancient text on them that teaches adepts how to summon powerful spirits using Djinn. In either case, they are quite useful to adepts."

"I see… The fifth thing I saw however, was not a stone tablet. This item was a beautifully carved stone; I would say it was _lapis lazuli _from the purple-blue hue it gave. Whatever it was, it is necessary in order to obtain the four stone tablets." Hamma said.

"So you say they must find this lapis, and use it to retrieve these stone tablets if they are to complete their task in igniting the Mars beacon?" Kraden asked.

"I say nothing. I merely suggest what the eight should do." Hamma replied.

"I will convey this news to them Hamma, thank you for your knowledge." Kraden responded.

"Kraden… there is one more thing you should know. The four tablets… they are watched over by The Guardians…" Hamma said shuddering.

Kradens eye's widened and he trembled at the words, "The Guardians!? But… I thought them only be a myth! Things of legend!" Kraden exclaimed.

"No… they are real. I saw them in my visions. The four ancients are claimed to have been bestowed power by the Wise One himself. Each of them protects one tablet each." Hamma said.

"Gods… this is not good." Kraden sputtered.

"Present the news to them slowly Kraden. Those eight share the same fate. They are entwined with one another whether they realize it or not. I have a study Kraden, if you would like to research whatever you wish to help the eight in their task." Hamma said.

Kraden nodded, "I think that would be the best idea at this point…" Kraden said desolately.

"Down the hall and the first door to the left is where the study is… I pray you find something that will assist these eight young adepts Kraden…" Hamma said unhappily.

"As do I Hamma… they will need all the help they can get…" Kraden said mournfully as he walked towards the study.

Kraden turned around before he walked into the hallway and said, "Hamma, if you don't mind, I would like to take you up on that offer of a drink now..." He said.

Master Hamma laughed sadly, "I think we could both use one Kraden…" She responded.

* * *

**NOTES: Firstly, I would like to thank you for reading the story, I hope you are all enjoying it! As always, give me a review with your opinions, observations, etc.**

**Another "term" I created this chapter (more of a game really) - _Ementus. _This is a card game, and from the descriptions throughout the story, it relates to all things on Weyard; Djinn, Warriors, Adepts, Monsters, etc. Elemental affinities to cards are important in this game, as I'm sure you all noticed. (WaterFire, Water=Wind, etc.) This is also something I will be using in future stories.**

**I'm not entirely sure I got the female's thoughts and conversations right? I'm a guy after all, I have no idea what thoughts go through girls heads in situations like that. I think I got it down for the most part? Still not sure, feedback from female readers would help a lot here.**

**I know this chapter has a lot of mush in it, but it was necessary to the progression of the story. To those of you who were expecting a battle scene, worry not. There will be plenty of those in the chapters to come.**

**Secondly, review responses: Droory - A big thanks to you****! Your reviews helped me immensely! Thank you for the compliments as well! As for the Mia situation, I originally didn't plan on having her act the way she does. However, I figure she really only acts that way around Garet, plus the fact that she has been traveling with her group for months now, she has warmed up to all of them (that's how i see it anyway). Battle scenes are really what I am aiming for to be the main emphasis in the story, and I am glad that you think they are well written. The dialogue from chapter 2 did follow the in-game dialogue a lot, I just figured that it would be easier for readers to relate and follow if I had some cannon stuff mixed in with my own. Your comment about coming off as a condescending a-hole, you didn't at all, in fact, I appreciate your honesty in the reviews. Feedback is useful to me whether it be good or bad. ****I also use MS word, and it is good to know the font and sizes of text - thanks for pointing that out. I hope to hear more feedback from you, and glad an author such as yourself is enjoying the story!**

**Jetzul - A big thanks to you as well! Both of your reviews made me laugh, I am glad you are enjoying the story as well! As i said before, battle scenes are really what I am trying to emphasize on, so expect more epic battles with The Guardians to come. As for the paragraph deal, I feel like I am getting better at it (you should have seen the first chapter when I first uploaded it, god damn was that a mess). I do find it surprising that you are not used to the Windshipping (ShebaxIvan). I can say that is a pair I see shipped together a lot in a lot of fics. This pair just plain makes sense to me, that is why I chose to put them together. As mentioned before, I hope you keep reviewing and giving me feedback, it is difficult to introduce elements to a story when I have no idea how my readers feel about them. **


	4. Things to Come

**Chapter number four. Been taking a while to upload things because of finals and issues that popped up, Sorry. As always, thank you for taking the time to read, please leave me thoughts on anything! **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Golden Sun or anything to do with it, that belongs to Nintendo and Camelot. I just like writing stories about it.**

* * *

It was close to noon when the eight adepts finally stirred, each finding their way out of their rooms. Felix was the first to make his way out to the kitchen. As he was grabbing breakfast for himself, he noticed a note pinned to the table. As he was eating, he picked it up and read it.

_To the eight of you,_

_Today, we must leave Contigo to start making our way towards the Mars Lighthouse. I have many important matters to discuss with all of you. Meet Master Hamma and I at the Inlet when you have all finished packing your things and have gotten ready for the day. We must leave as soon as possible, so do please try to hurry._

_ My regards,_

_ Kraden_

After he finished reading the note, he set it back down where he found it. Not a moment after, Piers, Ivan and Sheba walked out into the kitchen.

"Morning Felix," Piers said as he grabbed food for himself. Ivan and Sheba also did the same.

"So, what does today have in store for us?" Sheba asked.

Felix was still eating, so he merely pointed to the note he replaced on the table. Sheba picked it up, and read it, while Piers and Ivan looked over her shoulder at it and read it as well.

"Hmm. I wonder how long they have been waiting for us. And where is the Inlet anyway?" Ivan said.

"We should not keep them waiting. We must wake the others and leave as soon as possible. As for the Inlet, that is where our ship is docked. It is perhaps half an hour's travel from here. " Piers replied. Sheba, Ivan and Felix nodded in response.

Not soon after, Isaac, Jenna, Garet and Mia walked out into the kitchen. Like the others before them, they exchanged morning pleasantries, grabbed breakfast, and read the note. While they were eating the eight of them discussed what needed to be done.

After they were all finished with breakfast and their discussion, they all made their way back to their rooms to pack. It took a better part of fifteen minutes for the eight of them to gather their things. Everyone had finished and was standing around in the kitchen save for one Jupiter Adept.

"Ivan, hurry up man!" Garet called from the kitchen.

"Hold on! I'm almost done!" he yelled back.

Ivan threw the last item into his pack as he said this. As he latched the strap on his backpack, he started towards the door. He walked through the doorway before something dawned on him.

_Oh man! My encyclopedia!_ He thought as he walked over to his desk. _Woulda sucked if I forgot this… _He said to himself as he held the book in his hand.

"Ivan! We're leaving now! C'mon!" Isaac called from the kitchen.

"I'm coming!" Ivan called back as he undid the strap and gently placed the book in his bag.

* * *

As the eight adepts stumbled into the Atteka Inlet, all of their mouths went agape when they looked upon Piers's ship. Many Contigans were standing around his ship staring at it, admiring the hard work they had done. It was a standard Lemurian vessel, but now attached to the hull were two very large wings on the port and starboard sides.

"Umm, well that's new!" Jenna stated.

"That is odd, we had a Lemurian vessel as well, but ours did not have wings." Mia added.

Piers shook his head, "Mine did not have these wings before, this is indeed something I was not expecting." Piers said as he looked upon his ship.

"This is Master Hamma's gift? Putting wings on a ship seems… impractical." Felix stated.

Master Hamma and Kraden were sitting at a table outside a house a good distance away. Master Hamma noticed them eyeing the ship, so she stood up and waved them over. The eight noticed her waving, and made their way over to the both of them.

"Good to see you all young adepts! I saw you looking distraught at your ship Piers, do the wings bother you?" Master Hamma said.

Piers shook his head, "Not at all, I am simply not used to seeing such wings on my ship."

"So, what's the deal with the wings anyway Master Hamma?" Garet asked.

Master Hamma smiled, "I am glad you asked that Garet! The wings that the Contigan people have attached to the ship are the Wings of Anemos. They can only be properly used by adepts, as they are manipulated with psynergy. With those wings on the ship, it will allow you to fly over the sea, rather than having to submit to the direction of winds and currents."

All of their eyes widened upon hearing those words.

"Uhh sister, did you just say that the ship can fly?" Ivan asked confused.

Master Hamma nodded, "I did indeed little brother. You will need to get to the Mars Lighthouse as fast as possible, and these wings will cut the journey short by a great number of days."

All of them bowed in respect to Master Hamma, each of them thanking her with the expression.

"Thank you for your gift Master Hamma, we will make good use of it." Piers said.

"It is no problem at all Piers, I just hope these will help you in your journey to come. However, I am afraid it is time for all of you to leave. Even though the Wings of Anemos will allow you to fly, it will still take a good number of days to travel there." Master Hamma responded.

All of them showed somber looks on their faces.

"Master Hamma is right. If we hope to retrieve the star from Karst and Agatio and light the Mars beacon before the elements are thrown out of balance, we must leave as soon as possible." Kraden said.

"Well said Kraden. Now go! You all have quite the voyage ahead!" Master Hamma said.

Isaac stepped forward and bowed once again to Master Hamma before speaking, "Thank you for your hospitality and help Master Hamma. We shall not soon forget the kindness you have shown us the last couple of days."

Master Hamma bowed to Isaac in return, "You are quite welcome adepts, but worry not, we will meet again much sooner than you think."

All of the others nodded in agreement with Isaac and also bowed to Hamma as they left, thanking her in their own ways. They then started to make their way towards the ship. Kraden got up from the table, gathered a few books and scrolls and nodded at Master Hamma.

"Thank you Master Hamma. We shall meet again soon." Kraden said quietly.

"Remember Kraden… break the news to them slowly. And be sure to tell them **everything**." Hamma whispered. Kraden nodded in reply.

With that, Kraden took off after the others. As the others walked ahead, Ivan stayed behind for a moment to speak to his sister. Sheba noticed this, and stopped to wait for Ivan.

Ivan looked at Hamma with a sad face, "Sister…"

Master Hamma held a hand out in front of her, "Ivan… you promised you would save this until your quest was over… although I am sad to see you leave, we will meet again faster than you think."

Ivan let out a sigh, "You're right, I apologize sister, I… will see you soon then." Ivan said, taking up a poised stature. With that, he turned and started walking towards the others.

"_I know you are sad to leave your sister behind, but don't forget, I am here for you Ivan."_ Sheba's voice resounded in his head. Ivan looked around surprised and saw Sheba smiling at him a good distance away. He smiled back at her and started more quickly in her direction.

Hamma and the people of Contigo watched as Kraden and the eight adepts boarded the ship. After a moment, the anchor raised, and the ship started sailing out of the inlet. As it was heading out of the inlet, Hamma saw psynergetic rings form around it and it rose slowly into the air; the once inanimate wings on the side of the ship were now beating at a steady rate.

The ship started awkwardly at first, moving erratically to either the left or the right rather than forward. But as the ship disappeared further and further out of sight, the movements became steadier and less irregular. It finally vanished over the wall of stone spires that had once threatened the life of Isaac and his company, but the spires posed no threat to a flying ship.

As the ship disappeared into the horizon, Master Hamma looked upon it with a gloomy face. She knew the adepts would face terrible foes, and was sickened to let her own brother as well as his best friends go face their fate. _Gods… help these eight adepts, they will surely fail without your assistance…_ Hamma said to herself as she turned around and started walking back to Contigo.

* * *

After the ship had cleared the wall of stone spires that rose out the sea around Atteka, the adepts let the ship sink back into the water.

"This will take some getting used to.. flying is not my forte." Piers said. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's all get settled and take care of what needs to be done on the ship. After you have all taken care of what you need to take care of, all of you must meet me in the map room of the ship in an hour. I have many things to discuss with you regarding your quest." Kraden said.

Once again, all of them nodded in acknowledgment. Felix then walked across the deck and disappeared into a door, which Isaac assumed to be the map room.

"Ivan, would you mind bringing my bag to my room for me?" Sheba asked.

"Of course Sheba, which room is it?" Ivan returned, taking her satchel.

"Third door to the left in the long hallway, thanks!"

After she said this, Sheba went over to the ladder leading to the crows nest, and climbed to the top to scout for any dangers; as was her job during travels.

Jenna then got a devious smile on her face, "Isaac, take my backpack to my room yeah? Thanks!" she said as she basically forced her backpack into his arms. Isaac got a surprised look on his face as Jenna's backpack was shoved into this chest. He let out a sigh as he watched her run off.

After she tossed her backpack at Isaac, Jenna also went over to the ladder climbing over to the crows nest and followed Sheba up it.

"So Piers, are all Lemurian ships designed the same?" Isaac asked.

Piers nodded, "For the most part yes, there are only minor differences; most of them changes the owner of the ship has made or requested. I assume you'll know where to look for your rooms then?"

Isaac nodded, "Yeah we'll know where to go if that's the case."

"You four may take the rooms on the right side of the long hallway." Piers said as he grabbed the wheel of the ship.

The four of them nodded and made their way through a door into the common room of the ship. As they expected, there was a staircase leading down deeper in a far corner of the room. They followed it down and found themselves in a long hallway.

The four of them all walked over to a respective door and opened them. What they saw somewhat surprised them. Despite Piers's ship being roughly the same size as theirs, the rooms were much bigger, and much nicer.

A large bed sat in each room, two large pillows rested on top of the light blue covers. Accommodating nightstands adorned one side of the bed. Deep blue drapes covered the large circular windows, and a chest sat at the end of the beds. A desk sat in the corner of each of the rooms, with corked inkwells and quills resting on them.

Isaac set his and Jenna's bags on the bed and lay down next to them with his arms behind his head. After a while, he started to finally dose off. Mia walked by his room and she saw him lying down.

"Resting already Isaac? We haven't even done anything today!" Mia said laughing.

"I know, but is it really a crime to relax in a room like this? These rooms are so much nicer than the ones back on our ship." Isaac returned.

"Fair enough, but we should not keep Kraden and the others waiting." Mia responded with a smile.

"Yeah you're probably right." Isaac said as he got up from the bed. He closed the door and he and Mia made their way back upstairs to the map room to meet the others.

* * *

Ivan tossed Sheba's bag on his bed, and went straight for the desk and pulled the encyclopedia out of his bag. He gave most of the pages a look over, adding a sentence here, sprucing up a sketch there; until he was finally satisfied with the changes.

As he had said he would, after Ivan had dropped his belongings in his room and got settled, he walked across the hallway and opened the door across from his. He set Sheba's bag down on the bed, and noticed something on one of the bed posts. His eyes widened and he smiled as he realized what it was and recalled that day.

During their travels, Isaac and the others had come across moderately sized golden medals. The four of them had no clue what they were for until they reached Tolbi and a local told them about the Lucky Medal fountain. One day when he and Sheba were out in the city, he tested his luck in the fountain. The fountain spirit had given him a tiara when he tossed his medal in.

_Ivan stood with his back to the Tolbi fountain. He looked at the lucky medal in his hand and tossed it over his shoulder. He turned around and he watched it spin many times before coming to rest on a purple ring. _

_He and Sheba both flinched as the stone dragon spirit of the fountain extended its head towards them while letting out an audible roar. The dragon head stopped where Ivan was standing, with an object in its mouth. As he took the object out, the stone dragon retreated back to where it once came from. _

_It was a tiara. It was a very polished silver, with a large green jewel in the center-piece. The emerald shone with a brilliant green hue._

"_Wow, that's a very pretty tiara." Sheba said._

_Ivan looked at it, then at Sheba. He then placed the tiara on her head._

"_There! Now you are a true Laliveran princess!" Ivan said laughing._

_Sheba raised an eyebrow and laughed, "You know how much I hate being called that!" _

"_Your highness! What does her majesty ask of me!? " Ivan claimed sarcastically as he bowed to her._

_Sheba just continued to giggle, "Rise servant! You must fix me a great feast and clean my entire castle!" she responded playfully. _

_Ivan made a horrified face, "Noooo! That will take all day! And I am a terrible cook!" Ivan said letting out a laugh._

_Sheba laughed with him, as she took off the tiara and tried to give it back to Ivan. However, Ivan shook his head._

"_Keep it Sheba, it looks good on you! It compliments your eyes quite well." Ivan said._

_Sheba blushed as she put it back on her head._

"_Thank you Ivan! I shall keep this with me always." Sheba responded._

_After this they both left the fountain for their next destination. Sheba's face was beaming with happiness at the new tiara Ivan had given her. She wore it the entire day, and many days after._

Ivan's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, "Ivan? What are you doing in here man?"

Ivan shook his head to get himself out of his daydream and turned around to see Garet.

"Oh uhh.. I was just dropping off Sheba's bag." He responded ruffled.

Garet laughed, "No need to act so weird Ivan. The others are already upstairs, c'mon lets go."

Ivan nodded back at Garet and made his way out of Sheba's room. He took one last glance at the tiara before he closed the door. After this, he and Garet made their way back upstairs to meet in map room with the others.

* * *

Sheba was in the crows nest, scouting the seas for any potential threats. She didn't mind her duty at all. In fact, she liked to come up here. It gave her time to herself. It gave her time to think, time to reflect on the past, the present and the future. There was almost always a gentle breeze going through the air, and the smell of the sea.

She loved the smell and the feel of the gentle breeze going through her hair and over her body. It was a nice getaway from the dusty town of Lalivaro which she called home. It also gave her time to figure out ways to get Piers to reveal his true age.

_I really don't understand why he just won't tell us! I don't see what the big deal is even he is like… older than Kraden. That's so weird to think about. He looks not a day older than Felix, and yet…_

"**Sheba!"** Jenna yelled as she climbed into the crows nest.

Sheba jumped and let out a small shriek in surprise. She turned around to see Jenna standing behind her with her hands on her hips, and a devious smile on her face.

"Gods Jenna you scared the living hell out of me! What are you doing up here anyway!?" Sheba retorted putting her own hands on her hips.

Jenna just kept smiling, "Oh nothing, just seeing what you're up too." She said as she walked over next to Sheba.

Sheba narrowed both her eyes and gave Jenna a doubtful look, "What are you _**really**_ doing up here Jenna? I've known you for too long that 'seeing what I'm up too' is never the case when you come up here."

Jenna giggled before responding, "Damn, I can never hide anything from you Sheba!"

Sheba smiled, "Nope, that's why we're best friends after all."

Jenna smiled and raised an eyebrow, "You realize that goes the same for me too right? So tell me, where did you wander off to last night? Mia and I were looking for you. You missed Piers playing fiddle for us!"

Sheba's eyes widened when Jenna asked this. Sheba knew she had to choose her words very carefully or else Sheba knew she would never hear the end of Jenna's teasing.

"It was getting stuffy in the house, so I decided to go for a walk last night; I didn't get back for a while." Sheba said.

"A walk huh? Well that must have been quite a long walk considering how long you were gone!" Jenna responded.

"Well… You and Isaac must have had a nice evening, why worry about me?!" Sheba teased.

"Oh no Sheba, don't try and change to subject!" Jenna retorted, her cheeks flushing red.

Sheba smiled, "Aha! So you and Isaac _**did **_have a nice-"

"Ya know, now that I think about it, Ivan wasn't around either. You both seemingly disappeared. You wouldn't happen to know where he went _**would you Sheba**_!?" Jenna asked sarcastically. It was more of an accusation than a question and Jenna knew she had Sheba cornered.

Sheba's eyes widened and her cheeks turned pinkish-red in color.

"Uhh.. No, I have no idea where Ivan was! Did you.. uhh.. check his room? He could have.. uhh.. passed out from drinking too much! Umm… or he could have gone for a walk as well! Nope, I have no idea where he went last night. I sure wasn't with him!" Sheba responded flustered.

Jenna's smiled grew wider, and she laughed before she said, "That's really weird Sheba! Considering Mia and I saw **both of you in your room making out!**" Jenna said crossing her arms.

"I… You… saw.. us? But… when?" Sheba asked, her face now red as a cherry.

"**Ahah**! You admit it!" Jenna yelled victoriously.

"Oh Jupiter, here we go…" Sheba said as she brought her palm to her face.

Jenna smiled a triumphant smile, "If you must know, Mia and I went looking for you after Piers went to sleep. When we opened the door to your room, you and Ivan were so busy sucking face that you didn't even notice the two of us!" she laughed after she finished her sentence.

"**Are you serious**!? Did it ever occur to you to knock before you go into someone's room!?" Sheba retaliated while hitting Jenna on the arm.

"Aww now isn't that just the _sweetest_ thing. The two Jupiter adepts having a little moment in Sheba's room!" Jenna said as she puckered her lips several times.

Sheba didn't respond, but stiffened her shoulders and clenched her fists at her sides. She was gritting her teeth with a somewhat angry look on her face. Her face was still cherry red.

Jenna just continued laughing harder, "_ahahaha_-Look at you! You're so _ahahah_-embarrassed!"

"**SHUT UP JENNA!**" Sheba shouted while throwing her hands in the air.

Jenna continued to laugh for a while but then settled down.

"Did you **honestly** think you could hide this from me!?" Jenna asked.

Sheba sighed, "I guess not. I knew once you found out I would never hear the end of your bantering, and I was completely right. Although I guess I do kinda deserve it. Me making fun of you and Isaac and all." She let out a small laugh, as her face started to turn back to its original color.

"Yep. You're right about both of those things! Although honestly, you and Ivan do make a pretty cute couple! Almost as cute as me and Isaac!" Jenna said.

"Oh be quiet Jenna! But that's what Mia said last night when I was talking with her!" Sheba responded.

"So how was it?" Jenna asked curiously.

Sheba raised an eyebrow, "How was what?"

"You're really gunna make me spell this out for you?!" Jenna retorted putting her hands on her hips.

Sheba blushed once again, "You mean the.. oh. Well, it was amazing to say the least! I've never kissed anyone before, and with Ivan it felt so normal."

Jenna clapped her hands together and brought them to her face, puckering her lips again with her eyes closed, making fun of her and Ivan yet again.

"I hate you so much right now Jenna…" Sheba responded while she facepalmed.

Jenna laughed before speaking, "I know, but that's what best friends are for!"

After this their conversation stopped. They both gazed out into the ocean, enjoying the sights around them. The breeze was still blowing and bringing with it the smell of the sea. The sun was bright and they both basked in it. The two of them sat silent like this for a while, simply enjoying the company. They had started to doze off after a while.

Sheba finally spoke, "Hey Jen."

"Mmm?" Jenna said with her eyes closed half asleep.

Sheba yawned and rubbed her eye, "Weren't we … supposed to meet everyone for something?"

Jenna opened her eyes, "Oh shit! You're right, we should probably go now."

Sheba let out a sigh, "And I was just starting to fall asleep too."

With that, the two girls climbed down the ladder from the crows nest, and made their way across the deck into the map room.

* * *

Everybody was gathered around the table in the map room, which had books, scrolls, and papers on it. Everyone was present save for Jenna and Sheba.

Garet looked around before asking, "Where are Jenna and She-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door to the map room opened. Everybody turned to the door and Jenna and Sheba both walked in.

"Sorry we're late!" Sheba and Jenna claimed in unison as they made their way over to the table.

Everybody raised an eyebrow at the two of them, but lost interest quickly and turned back to the table.

Kraden nodded, "Good, everyone is here."

"What was it you needed to discuss with us Kraden? And what is all of this?" Felix asked as he pointed to the various items on the table.

Kraden nodded again, "I will tell you in due time Felix. I must convey everything that I discussed with Master Hamma last night. It is extremely important that I tell and you listen carefully."

All of them nodded in understanding. Kraden adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat before he continued.

"As I'm sure you are all aware, in the next couple of days, we will arrive at our destination, the Mars Lighthouse. Now, when we enter the Mars Lighthouse, we _**must not**_ ascend to the aerie. When we first enter the lighthouse, our task is to look for this." Kraden then picked up a piece of paper with a picture of a stone on it and pointed to it. He then set it back down on the table.

All of the adepts looked around at each other confused.

"I'm not following you at all Kraden. You said it yourself that we have to light the Mars beacon as soon as possible, but now you say that we mustn't light it when we get there?" Garet asked.

Kraden nodded, "That is exactly what I'm saying Garet. Master Hamma shared this information with me because if you do go to the top of the Mars lighthouse without the proper preparations, then all of you… will… die…" Kraden said mournfully.

All of the boys' eyes widened and all the girls gasped.

Garet clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, "What a load! We've been in the face of danger plenty of times and we've all made it this far! What makes this lighthouse so different!?" Garet exclaimed.

Isaac put a hand on Garet's shoulder, "Garet, you know Master Hamma's visions are always right, and she's helped us out a lot. Why would she lie about something like our deaths?"

Ivan shook his head, "My sister's visions are never wrong… I suggest we follow my sisters and Kraden's instructions."

"I agree Ivan. Kraden, what is this… _thing_ you said we have to look for?" Felix said as he picked up the piece of paper.

Kraden nodded "Yes, I was just about to get to that. In Hamma's vision, she saw four stone tablets. As you know, stone tablets we have encountered teach either psynergy, or Djinn summons. We **must** find these stone tablets before we ascend to the Mars aerie."

"So what does that have to do with this object Kraden?" Piers asked as Felix handed him the paper.

"Hamma allowed me to do some research in her private study last night. All of what you see here are things I found relating to the tasks that lay before us. I'm not entirely sure that object is what I think it is, but it matches the description almost perfectly." Kraden responded.

"It looks like a stone of some sort? What's so important about it?" Sheba asked as she was handed the paper.

"What Master Hamma and I believe it to be is the Teleporting Lapis. It is a small bluish-purple stone that teaches the 'Teleport' psynergy, and it is aligned with the Jupiter element. I retrieved this page from a book about the history of the Anemos. The Anemosians carved many of these stones into cubes out of _lapis lazuli_, which is a rare bluish-purple colored stone, and imbued the 'Teleport' psynergy into them. Master Hamma assumed this was used as a means of travel across the city of Anemos, considering how large the ancient city was. " Kraden replied.

"Teleport huh? So how might one go about this? Could we teleport across Weyard per say? Also, what makes you think it is located in the Mars Lighthouse?" Mia asked.

Kraden nodded, "Good questions Mia! Honestly, I have no idea about teleporting across Weyard, but definitely across moderate distances. As for its location, Master Hamma saw the Lapis next to the Mars Star, which she assumes means that both are located in the Mars Lighthouse. However, that question brings me to my next subject…"

Kraden then picked up a scroll and rolled it out on the table, putting pins into the four corners. Everybody looked upon the scroll. What was drawn on it was a large circle with many complicated looking runes drawn throughout the circle.

Isaac brought his hand to his chin in thought, "This symbol looks really familiar… oh yeah! There was a symbol that looked just like this in Contigo. It was… roughly in the middle of the marketplace if I remember correctly."

Garet nodded in agreement, "I remember seeing this when we left Contigo for the Jupiter Lighthouse."

Kraden also nodded, "A fine observation boys. These circles are Teleportation Runes. There are always two of these connected to each other. This is how one goes about using the Teleport Lapis; to answer your question Mia. Stand on a rune; use the psynergy, and teleport to the other. There are very miniscule differences between pairs of Teleportation Runes, as only some of the writing is changed depending on the destination."

"Kraden, where did you get all of this information?" Jenna asked curiously.

Kraden smiled and pulled out a map, "Another good question! I knew nothing of it, but apparently Master Hamma is quite the researcher. She has been studying the Anemos for quite some time, even before her time at Lama Temple. She has gone on many expeditions looking for such runes, but has only found two runes in her travels. The first being the rune in Contigo, and the second rune was located deep within the Yampi Desert," Kraden said as he pointed to two large X's on the map.

"So what might these teleportation runes have to do with us? Do they lead to the stone tablets you mentioned before Kraden?" Piers asked.

Kraden nodded, "That is what Master Hamma and I assume. Before we left this morning, she told me of a vision she had last night. Two islands in the Great Eastern Sea were revealed, both surrounded by jagged spires jetting out of the ocean."

Piers brought his hand to his chin in thought, "I may know of the islands of which you speak. There are only two islands I found in my travels of the Great Eastern Sea to be covered by such spires. One was very far north, about a day's travel from the island where Izumo is located. The other was relatively close to Lemuria, not half a day's travel east of it."

"Then we must visit these islands once we obtain the Teleportaion Lapis. These locations are our best bet of finding these stone tablets." Kraden responded. Piers pointed out the islands on the map, and Kraden marked them with two large X's with his quill.

"So is this all of what you needed to tell us Kraden? It seems like you are keeping something from us." Felix asked.

Kraden shook his head, "You are indeed very sharp Felix. There is one more important detail I left out until now… Tell me, have any of you ever heard of The Guardians?"

All of the adepts once again looked at each other very confused. Some of them shrugged to each other. Clearly, none of them had heard of them.

Piers snapped his fingers, "If I recall correctly… I remember King Hydros mentioning something about the Guardians, but I have no idea outside of that."

Kraden sighed as he reached for a book that looked rather aged. The title was faded, but one cold still make out the words _The Legend of the Guardians of Weyard_ on the front. Kraden flipped through the book, and marked several pages before returning to the front of the book.

"This book will explain much better what The Guardians are than I ever could." Kraden said as he turned to the first page.

Kraden took a deep breath before reading from it, _"The four Guardians of Weyard were ancient beings, said to have been given power by the Wise One himself. During the time of the Golden Age, when Alchemy was still released, many people tried to seize the ultimate power of all the Elements for themselves. Many wars were waged over it, and countless died; adepts and civilians alike. _

_It was the decision of the Wise One to give these Guardians immense amounts of power to stop all the chaos inflicted by Alchemy; as the Wise One cannot directly interfere with human affairs. The Wise One entrusted the Guardians with stopping those who would try to claim the ultimate power for themselves, and seal Alchemy so this would never happen again. The four Guardians made their way across Weyard, slaying any and all who would use their psynergy to obtain more control and influence._

_The four Guardians were unstoppable. No adept or warrior dared try to engage them unless clearly the odds were uneven. Armies of adepts and warriors alike faced them, but none prevailed. As legions of adepts and warriors were eliminated before them, the four Guardians stood, unscathed by anything that was thrown at them._

_As they made their way across Weyard, the Guardians entered each of the Lighthouses, and drained the power of each, forming the pure embodiment of the elements themselves, the Elemental Stars. The Guardians presented the Wise One with the Stars, and he sealed them away for safekeeping._

_The Guardians were celebrated by Weyard in its entirety. They had saved Weyard from destruction of course. This stopped the wars over Alchemy. It also disheartened those who would try to claim the ultimate power for themselves, so their job was done. However, having seen the greed and corruption of humans, the four Guardians decided that mankind would have to be eliminated, or else history would repeat itself. _

_So once again, the four Guardians made their way across Weyard, killing everything in sight. They did not care for the innocents, or the non-adepts. They destroyed town after town, and killed an innumerable number of people. The Wise One noticed this, and put a stop to the Guardians._

_The Guardians accused the Wise One of not having the best interests of Weyard at heart, and so they fought the Wise One. Although the Wise One was powerful, the four Guardians were exceptionally difficult foes to defeat, as their power stemmed from him. Despite the odds, the Wise One managed to defeat the Guardians._

_The Wise One banished each of them. He sealed a majority of their power away, and expelled each to a corner of Weyard, never to be seen or heard of again." _

Kraden then turned to the pages he had marked and continued.

"_The First Guardian was the wrathful demon. The Wise One made a pact with the Ancient Devil, the ruler of all demons. The wrathful demon would serve the Wise One, in exchange for the Ancient Devil to be free upon the realm of mortals. Despite how bad the terms of the deal may have been, the Wise One deemed it necessary and accepted the terms._

_He was a large, red-skinned demon with blue horns and wings. A mane of dark red draped from his head, his face twisted with anger and hatred. His piercing yellow eyes dug into the souls of those foolish enough to oppose him. His sharp teeth he bared at his enemies. _

_He stood two stories tall, and wielded a massive mallet made of gold. Many a man and adept were felled by its crushing blows. His hooves scorched the earth wherever he stepped, and his tail was as thick as the trunk of a tree. This was the wrathful demon. He was known as: Valukar, The King of Demons._

Kraden then flipped to another marked page.

"_The Second Guardian was the resolute observer. The Valeans built a massive guardian statue, a statue that stood at the base of Mt. Aleph, watching all who went into the Sanctum it hid. It had served as the watcher over Mt. Aleph. It also stood two stories tall. The Wise One animated the statue, and thus, the Second Guardian was born. _

_The statue was decorated in traditional gladiator style armor that was a deep shade of green in color. The figure in its entirety was fully armored, not a piece out of place. The sword it carried was half the size of a man, and never lost its edge. It's never blinking gold eyes observed everything that was presented before it._

_The earth trembled with every step this Guardian took, many were felled by his blade and psynergy alike. The armor it wore was enchanted, and those who casted upon it could not leave a scratch. This was the resolute observer. It was known as The Sentinel, The Steadfast Watcher._

Kraden flipped to the third marked page.

"_The Third Guardian was the knowledgeable mystic. The Third Guardian was unlike the others. He was a mortal man, given immortality by the Wise One. This man was a simple alchemic sage. His knowledge of elements was unmatched by any of his colleagues. One day, the Wise One approached the sage and asked him to serve Him, in return for knowledge and power. He accepted, and thus, the Third Guardian was added to the ranks._

_The mystic stood no taller than an average man. Deep purple robes adorned his body falling to his feet. A purple wizard's hat sat on his head. Both his hat and robes were decorated with yellow stars. Pure white gloves he wore on his hands. His face was shrouded in darkness, and his pale white eyes never misread an opponent. _

_He summoned spheres of each element to aide him in battle. His knowledge of elemental affinities proved too much for an innumerable amount of foes. This was the knowledgeable mystic. He was known as The Star Magician, Manipulator of Magics._

Finally Kraden turned to the last marked page.

"_The Fourth Guardian was the shadow in the light. The Fourth Guardian was the strongest among the four; the other three paled in comparison to the Fourth. The Wise One asked the blacksmiths of the Anemos to create the perfect weapon and suit of armor. _

_The Anemosian blacksmiths toiled day in and day out until finally, the suit and weapon were created. The Wise One thanked the Anemosians, and gave life to the lifeless suit of armor. The hollow suit of armor then stirred with existence. It stood above the average height of a normal man, but not by much._

_The armor was very finely crafted; able to be both protected and agile. It was light purple in color with golden links to connect the pieces. Its blood red cloak fell behind its back, becoming frayed from battle after battle. What struck fear the most into all who labeled it as 'enemy' was the fact that it was a hallow shell of armor with no head, but it fought with the ferocity of a god._

_The blade it used was enchanted with powerful Anemosian runes, which proved fatal for many adepts and warriors alike. It was no longer than an average longsword however. Everyone cowered in fear before it, as this Guardian was the one who spread the most bloodshed. It had mastery over dark psynergies, which made it seem like the embodiment of Death itself. _

_This was the shadow in the light. It was known as Dullahan, The Shade." _

"Well that's a nice story and all Kraden, but what's that got to do with finding those stone tablets you mentioned?" Garet asked.

Kraden closed the book in his hands, "According to Master Hamma's vision, The Guardians stand watch over the four stone tablets we must retrieve."

All of their eyes widened yet again.

Felix spoke first, "So you mean?-"

Kraden interupted, "Yes Felix. The eight of you must fight and defeat the four Guardians."

"Kraden, you said an army of adepts couldn't stop them. What chance do the eight of us have against them?" Felix asked crossing his arms.

"These things have the power of the Wise One… and we have to defeat them?" Sheba asked.

Kraden shook his head, "Now think about it for a second. The Wise One sealed away most of their power, and split them up. You would be fighting them all separately. Not to mention all of the Guardians haven't seen the light of day for hundreds, if not thousands of years."

Sheba began, "If we were to fight them in their weakened state…"

"Then we might actually stand a chance against them!" Jenna added.

Piers smiled and nodded, "Nothing has stood in our way thus far, these Guardians will be no different."

Garet nodded, "Exactly Piers! Whatever these things are, they can't stop us!"

"It still makes me wonder, if the Guardians are standing watch over those stone tablets… what kind of power is sealed away within them? Should we even be allowed to **have **that kind of power?" Isaac asked.

"I know what you mean Isaac, but if we can't complete our mission without it, I would say it is necessary. Plus, that power could help us in the future, just in case someone tries to claim the powers of the elements." Ivan added.

"Remember, these Guardians were once the protectors of Weyard, even in their weakened state and divided from each other, they will all still be very formidable foes. This will not be easy in the least." Kraden said.

"Since when has this **ever **been easy Kraden!?" Jenna retorted.

All of them shared in laughter. Although Jenna was joking, her response had a very accurate ring to it. All eight of the adepts had been through trial after trial; it was almost a never ending cycle.

Defeating monstrous foes, solving lighthouse after lighthouse, discovering new types of psynergy and going all across Weyard were only a few of the things that had been tough. But this could singlehandedly be their toughest task yet.

* * *

**NOTES: First of all, thanks for reading! Hope you are all enjoying the story. Again, I apologize for taking a while to upload. On a separate note, I am having a bad case of writers block (hence why this chapter was rather short) Any feedback at all would help. **

**Review responses: Jetzul - My interpretation of the reunion has almost no heated arguments and hostile word exchange at all. Droory pointed this out as well in his review, and I'm sure some of the readers are surprised by this as well. While there was conflict between Isaac's group and Felix's group, that is not my main focus on conflict. That belongs to the eight and the Guardians. A little more random when adepts are drunk? I'll most likely add something like that next time, they did retain themselves rather well. To answer your question, it never specifies that Agatio and Karst were married. Neither Saturos or Menardi. I never saw either of the pair as married to each other. But I'm glad your liking the story and hope to see more of your reviews in the chapters to come!**

**jollygreendragon - Your feedback got me thinking a lot about the direction of the story, and the details I had planned out. I may or may not change around some things, but your review helped me greatly as well. Shipping does pop up a lot in the story, which is something I'm going to try to do less of, since most of the shipping is out of the way now. The background story - 39k words in three chapters I'm going to assume is a lot. I'm new at writing these, as this is my first story. I enjoyed long chapters in fics I read, but I'll try and divide chapters more evenly. As for the original concepts, I'm making a new story with it. Once I'm finished with this one, I'll be writing a background story about Saturos and Menardi. I think you are an awesome writer, and getting a review from you is well... awesome! Thanks for reading and I hope you will continue when you have the time.  
**

**Droory - Some of your comments occurred to me while I was looking over this chapter. The narration of the dance scene being the big one. I was going to add more detail to it, but I decided against my better judgment to leave it as it was. I'll go through and add some more description and detail when I have more time or finished the story. I should listen to myself more often. All the Windshipping stuff - this is one of my favorite pairs, nice to see someone else excited about it! Also the 'exploration' - good to know that the humor in my story isn't lame! Thanks again for the review, your feedback helps me a lot. Good to see that people actually look forward to updates for this story. I hope you continue with your reviews as well. **


	5. Proxians

**The awaited Fifth installment! I apologize for taking a while to update this, quite a few issues popped up while trying to write this chapter. This was a tricky chapter to write, and I'm still not even sure I'm satisfied with the way I wrote it; but the story must go on I suppose. This chapter goes in a different direction, as you'll find out once you start reading. I am also taking a big risk in this chapter by introducing a couple of OC's and a side of Karst that some of you would probably never see. Leave me feedback with your thoughts! With that being said, I'll let you get to the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Golden Sun or anything to do with it, that belongs to Nintendo and Camelot. I just like writing stories about it.**

* * *

It had been a little over a week since the events that transpired on top of the Jupiter Lighthouse. While Isaac and Felix were solving their differences and traveling the rest of the Great Western Sea, two Proxians had finally managed to make their way back home.

Karst was standing on the bow of the ship, scouting ahead and thinking to herself.

She and Agatio were sailing on Menardi's ship. Everyone thought it had been destroyed, including herself. However, when they were traveling through Oceana, they had stumbled upon it on a small, almost hidden beach close to the small town of Yallam.

Surprisingly, even after all of the chaos with the continents breaking and the tidal wave, the ship was still intact.

_The two Proxians looked the deserted, half sunken ship up and down as much as they could see it. It did however seem familiar to both of them. _

_Karst shook her head, "This ship looks like it could be my sisters… Hold on a moment Agatio." _

_Agatio gave her a doubtful look and shrugged. Karst searched her pack for a while until she pulled out a moderately sized purple orb. _

_Karst shook her head, "My sister made a copy of the original orb out of a psynergy stone. She gave it to me before we all left Prox. If this is her ship, then this should work."_

_Karst stood as close as she could to the ship and held out the purple orb in front of her. It floated in the air above her palm for a brief second, energy then pulsated out from it and it glowed brilliantly for a couple of seconds. Karst and Agatio both had to shield their eyes. _

_After the orb returned into Karst's palm, it had no visible effect on the still half sunken ship. It remained half submerged as it had been when they found it. _

_Agatio shook his head, "This is obviously not Menardi's ship. Let's be on our way."_

_Karst placed the purple orb carefully inside her pack and shook her head in disappointment. They turned and started walking away, but as they were walking, the ground shook beneath their feet. Both of them froze dead in their tracks, turned around, and watched as the ship seemingly raised itself out of the water until it was back to its former glory. _

_The two of them looked at each other in surprise, and remained silent. _

_Agatio raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "If this is indeed Menardi's ship, then what Felix said must be true Karst." He then placed his hand on her shoulder._

_Sadness and grief crossed her face, "I didn't believe Felix and the others when they told me, but this confirms it Agatio.. My sister and Saturos are both dead. I… I can't believe it…"_

_Her face then twisted with anger and rage. Her fists both clenched and her brow furrowed._

"_I will make the ones responsible for this pay!" she said._

_A blue haired figure then appeared in front of them smiling._

"_Who are you!?" Karst shouted._

_The blue haired figure raised his hands slowly and spoke calmly, "Please forgive my interruption, but I overheard your conversation about your situation. I know all about how Saturos and Menardi died; and I believe we may be of use to each other."_

"_And what makes you think we should believe you?" Karst yelled. _

"_Yes, tell us or be incinerated!" Agatio yelled, fire radiating in his hand._

_The blue haired man shook his head, "Saturos and Menardi never did like eavesdroppers, I suppose you two are no different." He let out a sigh. "I was with them before their final battle, I became their allies as it is also my intent to see the lighthouses lit once more. I also know who is responsible, and where they may be located. I'm just trying to help you." _

_Agatio stopped the flame in his hand, "Forgive us, we are not used to trusting outsiders."_

_Curiously, but carefully Karst asked, "Tell us stranger, what is your name?" _

_The blue haired man merely smiled, "Me? Why you may call me Alex."_

This was where they found Menardi's ship, and it was also the first time the two of them had ever met Alex. At this point, Karst and Agatio knew not what to call Alex. Firstly, he had been an ally to them. He had told them all about the adepts that were traveling with his cousin, Mia. They were the ones who had been responsible for the death of Saturos and Menardi. He even helped them ascend the Jupiter Lighthouse.

However, Alex had also used them in a sense. Since Saturos and Menardi were dead, it was indeed their job to make sure Felix carried out the task of relighting the remaining lighthouses. But Alex had more or less manipulated them and used them as a means to fight battles for his own motives.

Alex had also abandoned them during their battle with Isaac, and reappeared only to stop them from being killed. Surely if Alex was with them, it wouldn't have been such a close call in the first place.

She shook her head and searched her pack for a moment. She pulled out a letter that Alex had written them and started re-reading it for what seemed like the hundredth time. He had disappeared during their journey back to Prox one day, and left only the letter on the kitchen table she found one morning. It was very neatly written and almost formal in a sense.

_Dear Karst and Agatio,_

_Some unfortunate circumstances have made me unable to continue traveling with you, as my attention is needed back on Angara. I regret to inform you that I will not be present for the rest of the way._

_It was my duty as a member of the Mercury Clan to make sure that you were both healed, as it is one of the tenants of my clan. Since you are both back to near full strength, I no longer think you will require my aid, and am sorry to say I will be taking my leave now. _

_I would be joining you in the task of igniting the Mars Lighthouse, but the conditions regarding my absence are of utmost importance. I wish you two the best of luck in re-kindling the beacon of Mars, and apologize that I cannot join you. However, knowing you two, the both of you should be fine. You are both very powerful Mars adepts, and should have no troubles ascending the Lighthouse of your element._

_If you two get injured, I left some healing supplies (potions, psy crystals, antidotes, etc.) in a bag. It is on the bed in the room I was staying in. I know you were running low on supplies, so think of them as a gift. _

_That being said, I know you two will succeed in lighting the beacon of Mars! Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and wish the both of you good luck._

_ My regards,_

_ Alex_

Karst shrugged to herself as she folded the parchment and put it back in her pack. There was nothing Agatio and Karst could do about Alex now. At least he had made sure they were fully healed and gave them some supplies before he left. They would be carrying out the task with or without him anyway.

Karst then noticed the riven frozen far up ahead. She thought it odd that the river leading to Prox should be frozen this far south.

"It's no use! We cannot go any farther Agatio, the river is frozen up ahead!" she shouted from the bow of the ship.

"We'll have to dock here and walk the rest of the way!" Agatio called back from the stern.

They both nodded to each other from the opposite ends of the ship, starting the routine for docking the ship. This went on for a while, until finally the anchor was dropped. Soon after a ladder found its way down the starboard side of the ship and the two Proxians climbed their way down and set foot on the snowy ground.

Both of them looked at their surroundings and took a moment to take it in; neither of them spoke, merely observed. Conditions had definitely gotten worse since they left. It seemed that the wind and snow had severely gotten worse. The river was frozen even farther south, and there were a large number of icebergs beginning to form at the start of the sea leading to the Northern Reaches.

As they started towards Prox, they both walked for a while in silence. Each of them thinking about the situation at hand. Surely, they would be welcomed back as "heroes" but they knew it wasn't them that deserved the credit. Not only that, but Saturos and Menardi both lie dead.

Karst shook her head before speaking, "Agatio…"

"What is it Karst?" he responded.

"It should not be us to receive all the credit Saturos and Menardi have done." She said.

Agatio also shook his head, "I know, I was thinking the same thing actually. Even so…"

"Even so what?" Karst asked.

Agatio let out a sigh, "We are the only ones left Karst. But I think we should keep our return quiet from the others. At the very least, we should tell Puelle and The Town Elder. I need to talk with them about what has happened. However, we must set out for the Mars Lighthouse soon after we speak with them; this weather only keeps getting worse."

"Yes that is a good plan. But while you are talking with Puelle and the Town Elder, I am going to visit my mother. She deserves to know what happened to Menardi…" Karst responded solemnly.

Agatio nodded, "I should say hello to her as well. We have been gone quite a while."

The two of them went silent again after the short conversation. Despite the wind and snow obstructing their vision and stinging their faces, they could make out the silhouette of Prox in the distance.

* * *

Soon enough the two of them walked through the village of Prox. Nobody was outside, as it was nearing the evening, where temperatures got much colder. Since they had left, conditions had gotten so much worse. The snow came down very hard; and it was starting to accumulate on the sides of houses and buildings because of the intense wind.

When they left, it was cold, but nothing a Proxian couldn't handle. However, it had definitely gotten colder since they left. Proxians were meant to be able to handle the cold, but even this was becoming a little too much.

The river that went through the middle of Prox was completely frozen, and now snow was starting to amass on top of it. Even the waterfall that fed water to the river was freezing solid. The blue flags native to Prox shook and twisted so erratically in the wind that they were starting to become frayed at the tips. They followed a side path that led to the western side of the village and stopped in front of a moderate sized house.

As Karst looked upon the house, memories sprung up in her head. This was the place where she and Menardi had grown up with their parents. There was one single event that changed Menardi for worse, Karst would never forget. Both she and Menardi were different back then when they were merely children, but they changed drastically as they grew up.

However, that was the past and this is the present, memories like that only stung her emotions. She may not have shown it, as she was very good at concealing her emotions behind the mask that people call anger and rage.

Karst tried to open the door, only to find it locked. She cursed to herself as she walked over to a small stone that rested a couple of feet away from the house. She lifted up the stone and retrieved a key from underneath. She walked back over to the door and twisted the key in the lock and the door opened.

The two of them walked into the house. It was a cozy looking home, as it was neatly decorated with furniture and various Proxian arts. They walked into the living room and noticed a woman sitting in a chair next to the fireplace. There was a nicely lit flame going in the fireplace, and it was radiating heat throughout the room.

The woman looked over her shoulder and saw Karst and Agatio standing there. Her eyes widened and she trembled as she got up. She looked at each of them as if she was imagining they were there.

She was a moderately sized woman, and like her daughters, she too had smooth red scales throughout her body, as was common among Proxian women. Her hair was a deep crimson in color, and put into a neat bun on the back of her head. Her soft red eyes looked upon both Karst and Agatio in disbelief, and yet they had a tint of happiness to them.

She wore a simple red and white dress that complimented her hair, eyes, and scales. She was getting on in age, but she still looked quite young. Even in her modest age, she had a slender figure, and still had a curvaceous body.

Many people throughout the village knew her; as she was a very kind person. She had once run the local item shop, but passed it on to another family after that one event that changed their family for good. If one compared Prox to Vale, one could almost see a resemblance between her and Dora.

She spoke quietly, "Karst…. Agatio… you have returned. It has been a long while."

Karst nodded, "Yes mother. It has been a while; I hope you have been faring well in my absence?"

Agatio crossed his arms, "Indeed it has Lyndra. I hope no trouble has sprung up in our long time away from Prox."

Lyndra shook her head and smiled, "Please Agatio, I've told you many times over to just call me Lyn. It is very nice to see the both of you again… I was very worried about you."

Agatio shook his head, "Worry not for us Lyn, I am far more concerned for my village. Conditions seemed to have worsened since we left, what has happened?"

Lyn shook her head, "It has gotten much worse since all of you left. The snow never stops, and the wind rarely rests. More people have gotten sick because of the intense cold, and we cannot hope to go out and gather food for ourselves. I'm sorry to tell you… but if this isn't stopped soon, there may not be a Prox to save."

Both Karst and Agatio clenched their fists and gritted their teeth. Hearing those words made them bitter. They had made many sacrifices to try and help Prox, and soon there would not be a Prox to save? Not to mention Saturos and Menardi had died trying to help. What would their deaths be for if they could not save Prox?

"I see. Forgive me Lyn, but I must go and speak with Puelle and the Elder. Karst and I will most likely leave for the Lighthouse tonight. I am sorry for the brief visit, but we will talk more once we return." Agatio said calmly.

Lyn nodded with a smile, "Of course Agatio, I look forward to that conversation."

Agatio nodded and walked out the front door, closing it behind him.

Lyn smiled, "So polite and well mannered, I am glad that you were paired with Agatio, I could not think of anyone else more fitting to fight alongside my daughter."

"As am I mother, I could not see myself paired with anyone else." Karst responded.

Although Karst spoke the truth, she knew she lied to a degree. Agatio was indeed her _miroshtalo_ and there was nobody better suited to be her partner. However, she thought about Felix, and the circumstances that led them to fighting each other. She mentally slapped herself, as her thoughts throughout the travel back to Prox almost always consisted of Felix.

"Would you like some tea Karst? I was just making some before you and Agatio arrived. It should be done now." Lyn asked.

"Yes actually… however, mother… there is something I must discuss wi-"

"Great! I'll be right back." Lyn left the room with a smile on her face.

Karst watched her mother go into the kitchen and she heard a cupboard open and the filling of cups with liquid. Soon after this, Lyn walked back out into the living room with two small cups in her hands.

Lyn handed Karst one of the cups and they both sat down on the sofa next to the fireplace gazing into the flames. They both sat there in silence for a short while, simple staring at the raging fire burning in the fireplace.

Karst spoke up first, "So how have you been mother? It has been a long time since I have gotten a chance to visit you and walk the streets of Prox."

Lyn took a sip of her tea before responding, "Me? Why I have been fine. It is you who I should be worried about! You must tell me everything that has happened! I bet you had many adventures and saw many interesting things on your trip away from Prox, how exciting! However… where are Felix, Saturos and Menardi? I'd have thought you would all come back as a group since you left as one."

"Unfortunately, I cannot discuss everything that has happened; we would be here all night. But… That's… actually what I came to talk to you about mother…" Karst responded. Her tone was a gloomy one.

Lyn got a worried look on her face, "What's the matter Karst? What happened?"

Karst shook her head and sighed, "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just say it. Mother… Menardi is dead."

Lyn's eyes widened completely. Sorrow immediately crossed her face. She looked down into her lap and did not speak for a while.

When she finally spoke again, Lyn's tone also changed to a miserable one, "So… my… my daughter… is dead?"

Karst nodded slowly, "Yes mother… Saturos is dead as well, and I am sorry that I return having to tell you this news. But you of all people deserve to know what happened to Menardi and Saturos."

The two of them shared another long silence. Karst figured it would be better for Lyn to accept the fact on her own. She knew that it would be hard on Lyn, as no parent ever expects to outlive their child, let alone their firstborn child.

"You know Karst… Things used to be different when you and Menardi were kids." Lyn said, her voice still tinged with sadness.

Karst merely looked at her mother solemnly and listened to her speak.

"You and Menardi were such happy kids. Both of you would have never dreamed of becoming warriors for Prox, let alone _mirashtalas. _We had a happy family, and we were so excited when you were finally born…"

"Mother…" Karst started.

Lyn shook her head, "You and your sister were five years apart. Menardi was such a good sibling to you Karst, you two always played together and got along famously. Menardi always watched over you making sure you never got hurt, and if you did, she would always rush home in a panic to get your father." Lyn then laughed lightly to herself recalling those days.

"Even though Menardi was a good sibling to you, she was the pride and joy of your father. He trained her endlessly in the ways of survival. He taught her how to hunt, how to fight, and how to live in the harsh conditions of Prox. They developed a very strong bond between father and daughter. Even I was jealous at the relationship your father had with Menardi."

"And then that day…" Karst said.

Lyn nodded, "That day… I remember it all too well."

Both of them reminisced the event as it happened on that day.

_It was a bright day in Prox. It had snowed lightly the night before creating a soft blanket of snow on the ground. Menardi and Karst were in front of their house, and Menardi was showing Karst how to properly handle the main weapon of Proxian women; the scythe. Lyndra was on the front porch sipping her tea, watching over the two of them and enjoying the warmth of the sun. _

"_Now try this, this is a vertical cut." Menardi said, showing Karst the motion._

"_Mmk, so like this?" Karst replied, while doing the same motion. _

"_Good! Now try this one, this is a horizontal cut." Menardi said, once again doing the motion._

_Karst repeated after her sister was finished, and did exactly as she did. _

"_Very good little sis! You're a fast learner!" Menardi said smiling as she ruffled Karst's hair. Karst's face beamed with pride at the words of praise her sister gave her. There was nothing Karst wanted more than to make Menardi proud of her. _

"_Alright, well since you got the basics down why don't you try them out on me? Don't worry about me; I'll just block your attacks." Menardi said._

"_Mmk!" Karst said with a smile. _

_Karst lifted the child sized scythe and brought it over her right shoulder. She jumped at Menardi and swung vertically, only to find her blade interlocked with the blade of Menardi's scythe. Karst twisted it free and kept attacking, alternating between vertical and horizontal slashes. Karst never let up, but Menardi still blocked every single one of her attacks with ease. This went on for a while, until beads of sweat ran down Karst's face, and she stopped her onslaught of attacks. _

_Karst sat on the ground panting, "So… how did I do… big sis?" _

_Menardi nodded, "You did really well, which is more than I can say when I was practicing with dad for the first time!" Menardi was also panting slightly, although Karst had only just learned the basics, she was quite skilled for a novice. _

_Karst smiled once again, she wanted nothing more than to be just like her big sister. _

"_Big sis, when I grow up, I'm wanna be like you! I'm gunna be strong and pretty just like you, and we'll go on tons of adventures together!" Karst exclaimed. _

_Menardi nodded and laughed, "All right little sis, I'll look forward to our adventures together! There is no one else I'd rather go with!"_

_In that moment, the great healer's apprentice ran up to the house. He stopped at the fence of their front yard panting. _

_He shouted to get their attention, "Lyn, Menardi, Karst, come quick! Kalegos is very badly injured!" _

_Menardi's eyes widened and she let her scythe fall to the ground, making a loud clattering noise as it landed on the cobblestones. Then she immediately set off in a sprint towards the sanctum. _

_Karst held out her arm as she watched Menardi run off, "Wait! Menardi! Where are you going!?"_

_Not soon after saying this, Lyn grabbed Karst's hand and they both started after Menardi. _

"_Mom! Where are we going?!" Karst shouted as she was being led by her mother._

"_To the sanctum, your father is there and he is hurt!" Lyn responded in desperation._

_They remained silent until they walked through the sanctum doors. Upon entering, they saw three people crowded around one of the stone slabs that were used as makeshift beds. One of them was Menardi, and the other two were the great healer and his apprentice. _

_Lyn and Karst made their way over to where Kalegos was laying down. Their eyes went wide and their jaws dropped upon seeing the bloody mess that covered Kalegos from head to toe. He was covered in nasty gashes that were present on almost all the surfaces of his body. Nearly half of his body was also very badly burned. His left arm was broken, and a bone protruded from his skin. His breathing was very erratic, and even with the great healer present, everyone knew he was far beyond the miracles of healing. _

_If injuries weren't present throughout his entire body, Kalegos would have been a proud figure. He was moderately tall and well built. Like many Proxian men, his scales were a gratified green in color. His messy blonde hair dropped below his shoulders. He wore the traditional blue Proxian armor that is issued to all miroshtalos. _

_His partner, Seraph, was on the slab next to his. She was not breathing, and she shared the gashes and burns that were present on Kalegos's body. She was not moving or breathing, as she had already died from her injuries. _

_Karst looked around the room gauging each person's reactions. She was only a child at this point, and did not fully understand what was going on. Menardi was kneeling down by Kalegos's side with tears streaming endlessly down her face. Lyn was trembling, tears running down her face as well. Her mouth was still agape, as she was in so much shock, she could not even speak. _

_The great healer and his apprentice had serious looks on their faces, with sweat rolling down the sides of their heads. They were trying as hard as they could and using every last ounce of psynergy they had to try to get Kalegos in a stable condition. _

_After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the great healer finally shook his head._

"_I am sorry, but there is nothing more I can do for him. Make your peace with him now, as he will pass soon."_

_Kalegos was now breathing somewhat calmly, and his eyes finally opened slowly after being closed the whole time. He looked around at his family, the great healer and Seraph for the last time. He knew he didn't have much time before his injuries finally caught up with him. He was so weak, he could not even speak. _

_His deep red eyes showed many things: years of strife to become a prestiged miroshtalo; great wisdom from years of raising and taking care of a family; sadness – as he knew his time left in this world was short; grief for his lost partner Seraph; but most of all, they showed determination. Despite his time being through in Weyard, he hoped his daughters would carry on his legacy and become great warriors. _

_Karst was now also kneeling beside her father, tears now forming in her eyes. _

"_Daddy…" Karst said quietly as a tear fell down her cheek. She looked down in desperation._

_With his uninjured arm, Kalegos lifted his hand to Karst's chin and raised it up so that they were looking eye to eye; and wiped away the tear with his thumb. He gave her a weak smile and ruffled her hair gently. She smiled back, knowing this was the last time she would see her father._

_Menardi was still sobbing uncontrollably. Again with his free arm, he pulled Menardi into a light embrace, and kissed her on the cheek. They sat there for a while, in a father-daughter embrace before finally pulling away. _

_Lyn was sitting on the edge of the slab that Kalegos was lying on. She took his uninjured hand in both of hers and cried silently. They both looked into each other's eyes for a long while, tears were present in both of their eyes. His hand was cold, and it was getting colder by the second. Finally, Lyn shared one last kiss with her husband before standing back up. _

_After Kalegos had made his peace with his family, he turned to the great healer and nodded. The great healer nodded back in response. This was his silent way of saying thank you. Then he looked at Seraph. She had been his mirashtala since they were children, and to see her dead next to him killed him on the inside. _

_After this, he looked at his family one last time. At least he could die knowing that he had the love of his happy little Proxian family. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes; and in that moment, the Proxian known as Kalegos, the father of Karst and Menardi, passed away. _

Karst finally spoke, "I was ten, and Menardi was fifteen. We were outside in front of the house and she was teaching me the proper way to use a scythe…"

Lyn shook her head, "Your father had left with Seraph, his _mirashtala,_ two days prior to take the Trial of True Flame. The test that _mirashtalos _take to prove that they are the best of the best; master fire adepts. They set off to kill a pair of Flame Dragons high in the mountains. I tried to stop him from going, but he insisted. He was set on this task."

"What fools he and Seraph were…" Karst responded.

"Your father and Seraph were both powerful Mars adepts. I thought they would succeed in their task, but… I was terribly wrong. When the apprentice of the sanctum healer came to our house and told us what happened… Menardi immediately dropped her scythe and broke into a sprint towards the sanctum." Lyn said.

Karst nodded, "I remember that. I shouted at her asking where she was going, then you grabbed my hand and we ran as fast as we could towards the sanctum… When we reached there, Menardi was already sobbing into father's chest…"

Lyn continued, "Seraph was already dead on the stone slab next to him… and he was dying himself, there was nothing even the greatest healer could do to save him at that point…"

"We all watched him die right in front of us. Menardi had his blood stains on her clothes… She… she changed after that day. The once warm playful sister I knew was gone; she became cold, harsh, and separated from us."

Lyn nodded slowly, "Menardi took your father's death very hard… During the days after your father died, Menardi very seldom spoke to me or you for that matter. She decided to become a _mirashtala_ in honor of your father… She still protected you and watched over you like a hawk, but… her new personality started to rub off on you after a while."

"After seeing her do that, then I also yearned to become one… She trained me almost every day. During training she rarely ever spoke to me, only gave harsh criticisms. She beat me senseless so many times, and she never held back once… After having trained like this, I started to become like her… cold, angry, and distant..." Karst responded.

Lyn nodded slowly once more, "And I thought I had lost both of you. However, you still managed to remain yourself, even if you had to suppress your true emotions deep within yourself."

"Yes… But mother… why are you recalling this?"

Lyn's face crossed with sorrow once again, "Why am I recalling this you ask? Because I may not have been with you or Menardi, but I know in my heart that Menardi's ruthless, unkind and callous attitude is what most likely got her and Saturos killed. She changed for the worse after your father died, and it cost her dearly. She manipulated others with fear, and she was very good at it. I know you feared her to a certain degree as did I. But most of all Karst… I do not wish to see the same thing happen to you… Please Karst, do not become like Menardi… or else you will share the same fate as your sister…" Tears started making their way down her face.

Karst's eyes widened upon hearing this. The exact same thing had happened to her during the events of the Jupiter Lighthouse. She was so consumed by rage, anger and grief that she deliberately attacked Isaac and Felix out of frustration. She had almost lost her life, and she would have, if it were not for Felix staying his hand and Alex healing her. It had already happened, and Karst was disappointed that she had let it happen.

"Mother… I… I promise I won't let that happen." Karst responded resolutely.

"For our family's sake, I pray it doesn't." Lyn said.

The two of them sat in silence once more. They were lost in their own array of thoughts; while staring deep into the flames of the fireplace. Karst finished her tea and set it in the table next to the sofa.

"Mother, I'll be in my room for little while; there are some things I need to take care of before I leave." Karst finally said.

Lyn looked surprised. "You're leaving so soon? But you have just returned Karst."

Karst shook her head and sighed, "Yes I know, but Agatio and I must leave right away if we hope to save Prox. I just wanted to make sure I got to talk to you before we leave tonight."

"I see. Well take your time dear, I left your room as it was since you left." Lyn said. After this, she got up and took Karst's cup and retreated back into the kitchen.

After Lyn left, Karst got up from the sofa and made her way up the stairs. She walked down a hallway and stopped in front of a door. She put her hand on the doorknob and paused before twisting it and opening the door.

Lyn hadn't been kidding. Karst's room was exactly how she left it when she left for the beginning of her journey. Her desk sat in the corner of the room next to the window as it always had. The storage chest sat at the base of her bed. The sheets of her bed were red, which matched the drapes hanging from the window. It was a small, simple room, but Karst had gotten used to it having lived in it for so long.

She tossed her bag on the floor next to the bed and lay down in her bed with her hands behind her head. She thought about the things to come, and the things that had already been. Despite the fact that Karst had always looked up to Menardi, she felt guilty that she had already essentially turned into her sister.

Karst had _always_ looked up to her sister. Even after the change she went through after their father died. But now she felt that turning into a replica of her sister would only make things worse. The talk with Lyn had opened her eyes; she hadn't fully realized her actions in the Jupiter Lighthouse until now.

Even though Karst despised Isaac for killing her sister, she felt somewhat regretful about attacking him and setting a trap for his companions. She felt even worse for trying to kill Felix. He was the only person besides Agatio that she had ever told about her past, and she tried to kill him. They had gotten very close to one another in the three years Felix spent in Prox, and Karst had almost thrown all of that away.

She had no idea where Felix and his group could be. So she decided to leave him a message. She got up from her bed and walked over to her desk. She sat down at her desk, pulled out a piece of parchment, uncorked the inkwell, dipped in a quill and began to write. She had an idea of what she wanted to say, but could not find that proper words to say what she meant.

After what seemed like an eternity of writing and scrapping draft after draft, she was satisfied. She left the letter on her desk and waited for the ink to dry. While she was waiting, she pulled out a whetstone from her bag and began sharpening the blade of her scythe. She knew that there would be many monsters inside and out of the Mars Lighthouse, and in her mind, it is always better to have a sharp blade ready.

Once she was content with the sharpness of her blade, she returned the whetstone to her pack and went to check on the letter. The ink was now dry and she read over her letter once more to make sure she expressed what she meant. She nodded to herself, folded it, and placed it in her pack. As she walked over to the door and opened it, Karst looked at her room one last time before closing the door.

Karst walked back down the stairs into the living room once more to find Lyn sitting on the sofa reading a book. Lyn heard Karst make her way down the stairs and she looked over at her.

"So… I imagine you will be taking your leave now?" Lyn said sadly.

Karst nodded, "Yes, but Mother… one last thing before I go…"

"What is it Karst?" Lyn asked curiously

Karst walked over to Lyn while searching her pack and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

"Mother… if Agatio and I are gone for more than three days… you must give this to Felix when he returns to Prox."

Lyn took the folded parchment from Karst and placed it on the table next to the sofa.

Lyn smiled a wide smile, tears starting to run down her cheek, "Of course I will dear! But… promise me… one thing my little Karstine…"

Karst's eyes widened at hearing her full name. She had not been called her full name in many years.

"Y-Yes mother… what is it?" She responded.

"Promise me… Promise me you will be careful!" Lyn said with a warm smile.

"Of… of course mother." Karst responded returning the smile.

They then shared a deep embrace and wept silently in each other's arms for a long while.

The exchange between them expressed many things. It was a warm embrace, from a mother to a daughter. It was a sad embrace, as both Menardi and Kalegos are now dead, and they are the last two in the family.

Mostly, it was an understanding embrace. Lyn understood that Karst still had her duties to fulfill, even if her life was at stake. Likewise, Karst understood how lonely and worried Lyn must be here now with no husband and no daughters. If Karst died on their mission to light the Mars beacon, Lyn would be completely alone.

Lyn had her doubts about letting Karst and Agatio venture into the lighthouse by themselves, but she knew she couldn't stop them even if she wanted too. Already, many Proxians had ventured to the Mars Lighthouse never to be seen or heard from again. Obviously there were terrible things that awaited any who chose to go forth into the depths of the mighty red structure.

After a while they both separated, and Karst made her way to the front door.

"Goodbye mother…" Karst said desolately as she opened the door.

"Goodbye Karstine…" Lyn responded sadly.

Karst walked through the front door, closing it behind her. The cold bit at her face once more, as the wind and snow had not let up since their arrival. And so, Karst ventured forth into the blizzard of Prox to find Agatio, so that they could finally carry out the task to attempt to ignite the Mars beacon.

* * *

After walking the frozen streets of Prox for a while, Karst found Agatio waiting at the northernmost point in the village. He was standing with his arms crossed gazing out into the icy plains where the tall figure of the Mars Lighthouse stood in the distance.

Karst remained silent as she approached Agatio. They both stood there for a short time and gazed out towards the figure of the Mars Lighthouse. It was difficult to make out with all of the snow and wind battering their faces and obstructing their vision, but they could still somewhat see the tall red structure.

"So how did the conversation with Puelle and the Elder go?" Karst finally asked.

Agatio shook his head, "They were overjoyed at hearing about our return, however, they were unhappy at the news of Saturos and Menardi's death. I suppose Lyn didn't take it well either?"

"No, not at all. She was very visibly upset and doesn't want us to go into the lighthouse. I don't blame her. Although I don't know how I feel about leaving her here by herself, but we must carry out our task." Karst said as she removed the Mars Star from its bag and looked it over.

"Puelle and the Elder said the same. But this is our duty; they couldn't stop us even if they wanted to."

Karst nodded, "Well said. Have you taken care of everything you need to? Once we leave, we cannot come back until the beacon is lit."

Agatio nodded back, "Yes. I've asked Puelle and the Elder to release the Valeans. There is no point in keeping them captive any longer. Although, I could ask you the same question Karst."

Karst let out a sigh, "Good. But I have no more business to attend to, and I have said what needs to be said. Let us be on our way if we have nothing more to do here."

"Let us be on our way then." Agatio said.

The two Proxians then set out for the Mars Lighthouse in the distance, they both turned and looked over their shoulder for one last look at Prox before it went out of sight.

The journey to the lighthouse was brutal. It was nearing midnight, and so temperatures were at an all-time low. The wind and snow never let up for a second. However, they both walked on, resolute, despite the freezing temperatures and relentless wind. Both of them did not falter once. They had a mission to do for Prox, and nothing would get in their way.

Soon enough, the two of them were braving the depths of the massive red structure known to all as the Mars Lighthouse. They found most of the rooms covered in massive spires, walls, and sheets of very thick ice. Some of the ice they could melt away with their psynergy, but most of it was so thick, it was essentially unbreakable.

The fact that the monsters in the lighthouse were the most resilient they had ever encountered didn't help either. Many times over, it was close call after close call because hordes of monsters would attack them moment after moment. They barely had time between fights to regain their composure. It was a good thing Alex had given them healing supplies, or else the two of them would have long ago collapsed.

After what seemed like hours of treading through room after room of the Mars Lighthouse, the two Proxians found their way into the lower portion of the lighthouse. Many times over, their path had been impeded by the ice that they could not melt even with their powerful psynergy.

They had found out the only way to get rid of the ice was with the dragon statues that were located in most of the rooms in the lighthouse. They had activated several of these statues and found that they fired out a concentrated fireball of Mars psynergy that destroyed any ice in its path.

However, they were lost once more in the lower parts of the Mars Lighthouse, trying to find their way to the aerie. They walked down staircase after staircase and walked down hallway after hallway until they reached the lowermost room of the lighthouse. It started as an incredibly long bridge that led to a larger room. Underneath the bridge, thick sheets and spires of ice were present.

"You have no idea where you're going do you Agatio?" Karst asked annoyed

"Don't start this Karst. You know neither of us have ever set foot in this place before." Agatio responded.

After reaching the end of the bridge and walking up one final staircase, they found an altar of a sort, in the shape of a flame dragon's head. When the two walked over to it, the room shook, and a loud echoing voice sounded from an unknown source.

"**You who hold the star of purest fire, open your hearts and listen. If you wish to reach the heavens, give the Star of Mars to me!**"

Karst and Agatio looked around surprised. They had no idea where the voice came from or who it belonged to. Although, it almost seemed like the voice came from the altar, it was as if the altar was telling them what to do.

At this point, both of them were severely roughed up. They both had rips and tears in their clothes and armor from all of the fights with monsters. They had cuts, scrapes and bruises present throughout both of their bodies. Their muscles ached and were incredibly sore from having to walk and fight so frequently. They both knew they were reaching their limit, but they still had to continue on; not only for their sake, but for the sake of Prox as well.

"Should we listen to it Agatio?" Karst asked.

Agatio shook his head, "At this point, I know not what harm could come from it."

Karst removed the Mars Star from the mythril bag, and was about to place it within the mouth of the dragon statue, when another powerful, booming voice sounded from behind them.

"**Stop! You must not reactivate the power sealed away within this place!**"

Karst and Agatio both turned around and saw a giant stone with an eye in the center of it floating not twenty feet away from them.

Karst quickly but carefully placed the Mars Star back inside the mythril bag, and placed it in her pack. She then quickly drew her scythe in the blink of an eye, and took up a battle stance. Agatio also took up a battle stance and stood next to her.

"**I do not wish to fight you, merely to speak with you.**"

"Funny, that a monster wishes to speak and not fight!" Karst said angrily.

Agatio didn't hesitate in casting a Rolling Flame at the giant floating stone. It barreled through the air towards the giant floating stone at an alarmingly fast rate. However, right before the Rolling Flame hit the stone, it vanished in thin air.

Both Karst and Agatio went wide-eyed at seeing this. There was no way that floating rock monster just cancelled out one of Agatio's most powerful spells.

"**I would not advise you to do that again. Despite how powerful you are, you could not hope to best me.**"

"If you are not a monster, then what are you, and why should we listen to you?" Agatio asked.

"**I am called the Wise One, I am the watcher and protector of all Weyard. It is my duty to ensure that Weyard remains peaceful and without conflict. I always have the best interests for Weyard at heart. It is also my job to minimize suffering and maximize prosperity throughout Weyard.**"

Again, both Karst and Agatio went wide-eyed. Everyone on Weyard, including Proxians had heard legends of the Wise One, but for the all-powerful being to be floating right in front of them was a bit much. However, even though the Wise One was omnipotent, Karst and Agatio still questioned the godlike being.

Karst's brow furrowed and her fists clenched, "You say you are the protector of Weyard? You say that your job is to minimize suffering? Have you forgotten about the people of Prox? Our village is on the verge of extinction and yet you do nothing about it! Our people are sick, our food is scarce, and our village dying; and yet you tell me that you have Weyard's best interests at heart?!" Karst angrily retorted.

"**There is much you do not understand Karst. A handful must suffer for the good of the whole. I know of everything that goes on in Weyard; I have not forgotten about the Proxians. I cannot allow you to rekindle the beacon; it will only fast forward the destruction of Weyard. I have been alive for an extremely long time, and I have seen many great civilizations fall because of Alchemy being free upon the world. **"

"Then tell us why! Our mission is to save Prox! Saturos and Menardi both died for the sake of trying to save Prox, and their deaths will not be in vain!" Agatio responded.

"**There are many reasons why the final beacon cannot be relit. I am sure you two have heard of The Guardians?**"

"I've heard the legends about them yes. What does that have to do with the seal on Alchemy?" Karst asked.

"**Then you know how powerful they are. The Guardians are a very real threat; I sealed them away long ago. However, over many thousands of years of being sealed away, slowly but surely they are regaining their strength; awaiting an opportunity to free themselves. As their power grows, my power wanes; as their power stems from me. They have been slowly drawing psynergy and power out of me over thousands of years. If the seal on Alchemy is broken; and psynergy let loose upon Weyard once more, then I could not hope to stop the Guardians from breaking free. Not only this, but they would carry out the mission that they never finished."**

"So even the most powerful being in all of Weyard could not stop them if they were released? Why would you create something you could not destroy?" Agatio asked.

"**I did not think they would betray my orders. But The Guardians are not the only reason why you cannot ignite the Mars beacon.**"

"Then what else is there?" Karst asked.

"**If Alchemy is released upon Weyard once again, many will try to claim the power of the elements for themselves. Wars will again be waged, and nations will fall. Many will die in the conflicts, just like in the Golden Age. If this is allowed to happen, then I will have failed in my duty once again.**"

"And yet you would let Weyard crumble into nothingness? Remember that the elemental stars are the key to giving life to the lands, if we do not ignite the final beacon, then Weyard will still be cut off from its source of power." Karst said.

"**I understand that Weyard is dying. However, it is my choice to let this happen, rather than to let mankind destroy itself; or The Guardians destroying all of mankind. That fate will let Weyard thrive for a bit longer before it eventually crumbles away.**"

"I am sorry Wise One, but even after hearing all of this, we must ignite the beacon of Mars. If we don't, our entire mission and the sacrifices made by Saturos and Menardi will have been in vain." Agatio said.

Karst nodded, "Our choice is made, and we will still continue to the aerie to light the beacon."

"**I understand the thoughts behind your choices. You wish to save your people, and for that I cannot blame you. However, saving your people will only damn the others; and because of this choice, you lack the will to go any further.**"

"We lack the will to go further!? I think it is you who lacks the resolve to do anything for the people of Prox! It is you who made the mistakes in the past and leave the people of Weyard to suffer!" Agatio retorted frustrated.

Karst's face twisted with anger, "We lack the will to go further!? It is our spirit that drives us to save Prox and its people, and yet you say we are lacking? Look at us, we are tired, weary and beat up, yet we continue anyway for the sake of our people!"

"**I am sorry I have to do this, but it is for your own good and for the good of all people of Weyard.**"

Karst raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking abou-**AHHHH!**"

Karst didn't have time to finish her sentence, as a burning sensation like nothing she had ever felt before was going throughout her entire body. She cried out in pain many times, as the burning feeling was the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. Agatio was also screaming out in pain beside her.

She felt her body starting to change on the inside and the outside. The pretty red scales that once decorated her body turned into hard, yellow and orange scales. Her hands transformed into sharp claws, and her body began to elongate. A tail begun to sprout from her tailbone, and wings started to grow from her back. Her jaw extended and became a snout with sets razor sharp fangs inside.

She began to lose consciousness, and watched as the same thing happened to Agatio.

Her final thoughts turned to Felix, as he was the only person who could even hope to save them now.

_Felix… help… me… _ were the last words she said to herself before she lost all sensible thought of her own accord. Once the two Proxians were fully transformed into mindless Flame Dragons, the Wise One froze the two of them in a massive block of ice. Karst and Agatio were now trapped in the ice, only to await the unlucky ones foolish enough to break open the massive wall of ice.

The Wise One shook left to right, as a human would shake their head. He looked upon the enormous ice block with the two dragons encased inside.

"**I am truly sorry Karst and Agatio. But the only ones who can hope to save this world of Weyard are Felix and his companions.**"

With that being said, the Wise One vanished as quickly as he came, leaving the two Proxians enclosed in the giant slab of ice; waiting for those who would be rash enough to free them from their icy prison.

* * *

**NOTES: As always, thanks for taking the time to read my story! I hope you are enjoying it! As I said before, this was indeed a tricky chapter to write, and hope that I haven't mixed up the story to much by adding this chapter. Again, I apologize for taking a while to update this, my computer freaked out for a while as well as some real life issues that I had to attend to.**

**On another note, I was thinking about changing the description of the story itself. I'll post some new ones, let me know what you think of them, or if I should just keep the old one.**

**Now for review responses!**

**Droory - I always enjoy review from you! I like the last chapter a lot as well! I think that is probably one of the better written chapters that I have come up with. Good to hear the character interactions are enjoyable, as I'll be writing more of these. As for the story of The Guardians, it is good to hear that it makes sense. I was looking forward to revealing the Guardians and now that I have finally done so, I can now focus on ideas for the chapters to come with them. (Also, I haven't forgotten about the reviews I've said I'll do about your story, I've been busy if you coudln't already tell.)**

**Jetzul - One of my faithful reviewers and readers! Glad to hear that this story inspired you to write your own stuff! As I said before, I would have never thought I would influence someone with my very first fic. Again, praise about the tales of the Guardians! I am actually excited to write the chapters about them, and hope you will continue reading and reviewing.**

**Aliff - It's always nice to see other people reviewing my stories, as any feedback at all helps! I'm going to go ahead and assume that most of my readers like the idea of the Guardians, and I cant wait to post the chapters about them. **


	6. Troubles in the Northern Reaches

**Chapter 6!... finally! Only now do I realize how bad I am at updating, but whatever. Sorry it took so long! But**** as always, thank you for taking the time to read, please leave me thoughts on anything! I forgot to mention this before, but if you want to use any of my ideas go right ahead. There is a bit of vulgarity in this chapter, so read with care. **

**********Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Golden Sun or anything to do with it, that belongs to Nintendo and Camelot. I just like writing stuff about it.**

* * *

Isaac shook his head, "Do you really think this is will work?"

"I'm not sure, but what other options do we have?" Felix responded.

Garet shook his head as well, "Yeah, Jen and I already tried torching that thing and it didn't even leave a mark. If this doesn't work I don't know what will."

Throughout the last week, Felix and his companions had been busy exploring the Great Western Sea. The first and foremost goal for them was to get to Prox and light the Mars beacon as soon as possible. However, the sea leading to the Northern Reaches was strewn with icebergs. Not only that; but a massive wall of ice impeded their path. It completely blocked the sea that led into the Northern Reaches.

Not even psynergy from the two resident Mars adepts could even phase the massive block of ice. Seeing as how they couldn't continue forward, Felix thought it best to explore the rest of the Great Western Sea, and how right he was. They had found multiple Djinn of each element, Jenna had obtained a new type of psynergy from the elemental Magma Rock, and they had even acquired a cannon from the locals of Loho for helping them out with their mining operation.

Isaac let out a sigh, "Well, it managed to take down that wall in Loho down easy enough."

Felix nodded, "Let's hope this works."

Felix then walked over to the front edge of the upper deck of the ship and gave a signal to Piers, who was on the main deck at the wheel. Kraden, Jenna, and Mia were beside him awaiting the cannon's fire. Piers returned the gesture and Felix walked back over to Isaac and Garet.

Felix looked up at the crows nest and saw Ivan and Sheba both giving him a signal as well. Everything was ready; the only thing to do now was to see if it worked.

Felix nodded, "Looks like we're good to go. Fire it, Garet."

Garet smiled, "With pleasure!"

With that, Garet opened the large pack that was on the ground next to him, and pulled out a sizeable red pulsating rock of wholesome Mars psyngery. Due to the spherical shape and where it was found, Kraden had deemed it the magma ball.

Garet carefully inserted the magma ball into the bore of the cannon and then proceeded to walk behind it, ready to fire. As he did this, everyone aboard braced themselves by covering their ears with the palms of their hands.

"Well, here we go!" he cried. The air around him hummed with the sound of psynergy in action as he funneled a large amount of Mars psyngery into the chamber of the cannon.

Everything seemed to happen quickly, as the cannon's **BOOOM **let out a resounding howl. The blast from the cannon was so intense, that it jerked the entire ship backwards a short distance. Everyone but Garet was covering their ears, and it was still a deafening boom for all of them. They all saw a red flash as the magma ball barreled through the air. It then collided with the enormous iceberg and let out another earsplitting **CRASH **as the iceberg was torn apart piece by piece.

It was a good thing Piers took the precaution to anchor the ship, because as the massive iceberg collapsed into the sea, it sent out large waves that threatened to sweep away the ship. After the last bit of ice sank into the sea, all of them took their hands off their ears and checked to see if everything was okay.

Isaac let out a small cheer, "Haha! Good shot Garet!"

Felix nodded as well, "Indeed, nice work Garet!"

Felix walked over to the edge of the upper deck and shouted, "You guys alright down there!?"

"We're all fine down here Felix!" Piers shouted back.

Felix nodded and walked over to the ladder leading up to the crows nest, "You two alright up there!?" He shouted up.

"We're both okay up here!" Sheba shouted back down.

Felix nodded to himself again in satisfaction and walked back over to where Garet and Isaac were standing by the cannon.

Garet gave Isaac an odd look before saying, "What did you say!?"

Isaac gave Garet the same odd look, "I said nice jo-"

"What?!" Garet continued.

"Garet, seriously!?" Isaac replied almost annoyed.

"Man, what are you saying?!" Garet retorted sounding irritated.

Felix let out a small chuckle and shook his head as he realized what happened. Since Garet was the one who fired the cannon, he couldn't cover his ears and it seemed that he went temporarily deaf from the cannon shot.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!?" Garet shouted.

Pure annoyance crossed Isaac's face as he yelled back at Garet, "Hey Garet! If you're an idiot say 'WHAT!'"

"WHAT!?" Garet yelled back.

Both Isaac and Felix began laughing. It had been a while since they had been able to laugh like this with all the traveling and delving they had done lately. They had been so busy in fact, that they could barely find time to sleep even with the divided watch shifts between them all on the ship.

"What did you sa-!?- Oh forget it…" Garet said in defeat.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent tediously navigating around icebergs in the sea of the Northern Reaches trying to reach the very northern tip of Weyard, and their destination: Prox. Jenna and Garet had their work cut out for them, as smaller icebergs sometimes obstructed their way. The two of them had to melt whatever they could to make navigating the large Lemurian vessel easier through the iceberg ridden sea.

As usual, Sheba and Ivan were both in the crows nest, scouting ahead and yelling down at everyone else when there were any icebergs ahead. Isaac and Felix were helping with navigation, as the waters of the Northern Reaches were much more difficult to tread than either of the Great Seas. Piers was at the wheel, slowly and carefully guiding the ship so as not to run into anything that might present a problem.

Kraden was in his usual spot, the common room; reading up on whatever information that could be of use to help the eight adepts with the trials to come. Mia was also in the common room reciting silent prayers in her mind. Every now and then she would stop and study with Kraden for a while as well.

It was an incredibly long day of these dull tasks before they finally stumbled upon the river that led to Prox.

Sheba poked her head out from the crows nest, "Felix, the river is definitely frozen a little ways ahead!" She shouted.

Felix nodded to himself and turned to yell back up at Sheba from the deck, "All right, you and Ivan should come down here; I need to discuss something with everybody!"

Sheba nodded, "Mmmk, we'll be right down!"

"Isaac, can you go get Mia and Kraden for me? I need to talk with everyone before we drop anchor." Felix asked.

Isaac nodded, "Sure thing." He then walked across the deck and disappeared into the door leading to the inside of the ship.

Once everyone was gathered on deck, Felix once again began one of his famous 'talks' before they embarked on a new territory. He seemed to do them a lot, which came with the job of being the team leader. Nobody really minded. He _was _the primary leader of their little group after all.

Felix began, "Alright everyone, good work with everything in the Western Sea. Everything went smoothly and we got everything we needed pretty quick. However, the Northern Reaches are different from all the places we've been. This might be the most dangerous place of all for several reasons. The cold is a threat in itself, make sure you guys take extra clothes and dress warmer than usual. Monsters in the wild here are vicious, and will not think twice before taking your life."

"Yeah, yeah! New place, monsters are more dangerous, cold weather, another lighthouse to climb up; nothing we haven't seen before am I right?" Garet boldly stated.

"You would think that Garet, but you weren't the one who was stuck here for three years now were you?" Felix calmly replied, though he was clearly irked.

"Err… right. Sorry." Garet replied embarrassed.

"As I was saying, what we need to do this time around is to find the Lapis and retrieve the Mars Star. Once we have both of those things, we can go back to Contigo and figure out where to go from there. Soon enough, we'll reach the end of the river. We'll have to drop anchor soon and have to walk the rest of the way to Prox."

Everyone let out a long drawn out sigh, although Jenna let out the biggest one, "You're _**really **_gunna make us walk even though we just busted our asses trying to get the ship through here!?"

Ivan shook his head, "I'm with Jenna, getting the ship through this place was hassle enough, why can't we just fly there like we did all over the Western Sea? Plus, wouldn't it be safer anyway?"

Felix could see that everybody was visibly tired. Every single one of them had visible bags under their eyes from sleep deprivation. He was tired as well, so he couldn't blame any of them. With all the traveling and adventuring, they barely had time to eat let alone rest.

Felix let out a sigh of his own, "Look, I know everyone is tired, hungry and cold. Sure we've brought the ship a long ways, but honestly, look at this place. We can't fly in this."

Everyone stopped to take in the surroundings. It was a lot colder this far north. Snow was falling everywhere, and the wind was fairly harsh.

Felix shook his head, "I'd rather not fly in this weather considering the wind and snow. Plus, I know for a fact that all of us are tired, and I don't want to risk anybody passing out midflight. Remember, we're not staying here long. We're only staying long enough to retrieve the lapis and to get the Mars Star back."

Garet let out another sigh, "All right, fair enough. But how long will it take to get there?"

"The walk shouldn't take that long, and we should reach a stopping point soon so-." Felix said.

"If I might interrupt, it looks like we've reached the end of the river." Piers stated as he was still guiding the wheel.

Everyone stopped and looked ahead of the ship. The river leading to Prox was entirely frozen up ahead, and it seemed to Felix that it was now frozen even further south than it once had been.

"Alright Piers, let's stop here. Looks like this is where we start walking. Everyone, go pack supplies for at least three days, meet on deck once you're done."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways to their rooms save for Isaac, Piers and Felix.

Piers went over to the anchor and pulled a lever. Several chains rattled and a loud splash followed as the anchor found its way to the bottom of the river. Piers then followed everyone else down into the ship to pack.

Felix merely stood on deck and was lost in thought while everyone else packed. _It's been a long time since I've been here... My parents and Isaac's father… they've been waiting all this time for us to return. I hope they're alright. They didn't seem to be faring to well when we left… Karst must have returned also._

He gritted his teeth in frustration. _Dammit! I should have stopped her from leaving, who knows what she could've gotten herself into… Although… she can handle herself…_

Felix's thoughts were interrupted, "So you got a plan?" Isaac finally asked.

Felix jumped a little in surprise, "Shouldn't you be packing, Isaac?"

"Shouldn't you? Besides, I'm just as much a leader as you are, whatever you got planned, we need to discuss. Or did you forget our little chat a while ago?" Isaac replied.

Felix let out a sigh, "You're right. But I really don't have much of a plan."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, "That's… weird. You always have at least _something_ planned Felix."

Felix shook his head, "We need rest before we can continue into the Mars Lighthouse. Everyone is tired, and I'm no exception." Isaac nodded in agreement.

"We'll stay at the inn in Prox tonight and leave for the Lighthouse in the morning after breakfast. However, tonight I need to check up on my parents and your father, and… there is another personal matter I need to take care of as well."

"Karst, huh?" Isaac replied.

Felix shook his head and smirked, "Nothing escapes you, Isaac."

Isaac returned the smirk, "I still don't understand what you see in her, she _did_ try to kill us after all." He said jokingly. "Either way, I'm coming with you tonight."

Felix raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"

"You really need to ask me that Felix? I thought my father was dead up until a couple weeks ago… And now is my chance to finally see him again… The hell if I'm passing this up! " Isaac replied.

Felix nodded, "True enough. C'mon then, let's go get our stuff ready."

Isaac nodded and followed Felix to their respective rooms to pack. When they had finished packing and returned to the deck, everyone else was already waiting for them.

"Well look at that! For once the two of you are slacking and everyone else is ready!" Mia said playfully.

Everyone let out a small laugh. Felix and Isaac always pestered everyone about hurrying up all the time.

Felix shook his head, "Yes, and it will only be this once. Let's get going."

All nine of them made their way down the ladder of the Lemurian vessel and began the trek to Prox. They walked along the river bank, so as to not get lost in the tundra of the Northern Reaches. After a long day of sailing and traveling, everyone was tired. Not to mention the sleep deficiency, hunger, and unwillingness to walk in the snow and wind.

Felix, Piers, and Kraden were leading the group, all of them unwavering from the cold. Jenna and Isaac followed behind them, holding hands to allow Jenna's warming Mars psyngery to flow through Isaac as well. Poor Ivan and Sheba were behind them, sharing a large blanket and hugging each other tightly at an attempt to share their body heat with each other. Garet and Mia followed last, with Garet's arm over Mia's shoulder. Neither of them were bothered by the cold, Garet being a Mars adept, and Mia having lived in Imil all her life.

Each of them were having their own little conversations while they walked to help distract them from the walking, the wind, and the intense cold.

About halfway to Prox, everyone noticed something huge frozen in the river up ahead as they walked on.

"Hey guys… what is that?" Jenna asked as she pointed to the massive frozen object.

"It almost looks like… a ship?" Kraden questioned.

"Should we check it out? It could be _dangerous _or something." Garet said sarcastically.

"Ugh, be quiet Garet!" Mia said scolding as she let out a small laugh of her own.

Felix looked upon it in disbelief, "That… couldn't be…" he whispered to himself. He then broke into a sprint toward the massive frozen object.

"Felix, wait!" Piers shouted as he chased after him.

Kraden let out a sigh and muttered to himself, "I'm getting a little old for all this nonsense." As he followed after the two of them.

"Felix! Piers! Where do you think you guys are going!?" Jenna shouted as she tugged Isaac along with her.

"Hey! Slow down you guys!" Sheba yelled as she and Ivan ran after them.

"What's with the running all of a sudden!?" Garet yelled. He and Mia soon followed after the rest of them.

Once everyone had caught up to Felix, they all stared silently at the huge ice-covered object. Amidst all of the snow and ice encasing it, it had a definable shape as a ship. Not only that, but they could all tell from the way it was shaped and the dragon shaped bow that it was a Lemurian vessel. It was anchored down, frozen solid in once flowing river. Any other ship would have collapsed by now, abandoned and frozen in the cold, desolate place. But Lemurian boats were crafted to resist things that normal ships couldn't.

"What is an abandoned Lemurian vessel like this doing all the way up here in the Northern Reaches!?" Piers asked surprised.

"There's no mistaking it… This has to be Menardi's ship…" Felix said despairingly.

Everyone's brow raised in disbelief. Menardi was dead, how could her ship possibly be here of all places? After all, everyone had thought it lost for good or destroyed.

Garet spoke first, "Felix, how is that even possible? Menardi is-"

"**DON'T**… say it Garet." Mia interrupted.

Killing anyone was against the tenants of the Mercury clan, and Mia had essentially broken it by aiding in their deaths. However, had she not intervened, her friends would have likely died; and she wasn't about to let that happen. She had never done anything like that in the past, and even now she still felt incredibly awful for doing so.

"Sorry Mia, but Garet is right. If this is Menardi's ship, then how did it get here? And how the hell did she manage to get a Lemurian ship at that?" Isaac asked.

Felix shook his head, "Menardi never revealed how she came by a ship like this, but there's only one explanation why it's here."

"And what might that be?" Ivan asked.

"Karst and Agatio sailed back here in it. It would only make sense." Felix responded.

Jenna scowled at hearing that name. She knew she didn't like Karst from the moment they met in Madra, and she was completely right. Karst had deliberately set a trap for Isaac and his friends, and went on to attack not only him, but herself and her brother as well.

"So what! What's the big deal?" Jenna asked clearly irritated.

"The big deal? That means Karst and Agatio are here, and we need to get the Mars Star back from them to light the beacon." Felix responded.

Piers shook his head, "If they haven't already done so. They seemed very determined to ignite the Mars Lighthouse as quickly as possible."

Felix nodded, "And that's exactly why I'm concerned. Master Hamma said that if _**we**_ go up to the aerie unprepared, we'll die. So what will happen if they go up there?"

"Who cares?! They deserve whatever waits for them up there after what they tried to do to us! They tried to kill all of us and you want to save them!? You're okay with that!?" Jenna angrily replied.

"So if Vale was in danger of dying, you wouldn't do the same thing Jenna?" Felix replied his voice rising in anger.

"I would do everything in my power to, Felix! But I would never go so far as to attack innocents, how did all of us deserve that?!" Jenna yelled back.

Felix was furious at this point, "And have you forgotten that Isaac and his friends are responsible for the **DEATH** of Saturos and Menardi!? That was Karst's sister! If somebody killed me Jenna, I know you would do the same damn thing! You'd get extremely welled up in your emotions considering you haven't controlled your temper so well in the past, **Jenna**!"

"And just what the **FUCK **is that supposed to mean, **Felix**!?" Jenna screamed. The air around her crackled with fiery psynergetic sparks.

Complete conversational chaos ensued as everyone tried to speak at once and Jenna and Felix got in each other's faces yelling.

"HEY! HEY! HEY! Would you two cut it out!?"

-"You two really need to stop-"

-"Oh gods… here we go…"

-"Would you two knock it the fuck off already!"

-"C'mon, give it a rest guys!"

-"Both of you shut up! We're getting absolutely nowhere!"

-"This arguing is meaningless; we have more important things to do!"

This continued for a solid minute before Isaac finally shouted, **"ENOUGH!" **while he simultaneously casted a small quake spell that shook the ground beneath all of them.

Everyone immediately went silent and looked in Isaac's direction.

"**LOOK! **You two, cut it out already! I've never seen you two like this before! What the hell just happened?!" Jenna and Felix both turned away from each other in anger. "Seriously, let's just get to Prox, and get to the inn so we can cool our heads and get some food and sleep. I know for a fact that we're all tired and hungry, so let's just get going already."

Felix took a deep breath and pinched the top of his nose, "Good call, Isaac."

Jenna crossed her arms, "**Fine…**"

"Okay, so let's get going then… And no more damn arguing!" Isaac firmly stated.

The rest of the way was completely silent between all of them. Nobody made so much as a peep except to sniff or cough. An awkward cloud of tension covered the nine of them as they walked, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

After what seemed like hours of walking through the unforgiving blizzard of the Northern Reaches, the nine of them could finally see the tattered blue flags bordering Prox. Before long, the nine of them walked the snow ridden streets of Prox. It was a gloomy, small village that truly looked like it was on the verge of dying.

All thoughts of the last argument and tension dissipated as the nine of them looked upon the poor village. The few people they walked by gave them strange, doubtful and disbelieving looks, outsiders were not common in Prox at all. It seemed as though no one recognized Felix. He had changed substantially after the long time he had been away.

"This place… it's so… sad. It's not lively at all… and the people look miserable." Mia said desolately. She could read the faces of those she passed by, none of them seemed happy in the slightest bit.

Felix nodded, "Exactly the reason why Saturos, Menardi, Karst and Agatio wanted to help so badly. Things only keep getting worse as time goes on."

As Jenna looked around at the despondent village and its inhabitants she somewhat empathized with the ones she labeled as villains. _I see why they wanted to help their village, I would have done the same thing… but that still doesn't give them the right to attack innocents… or us for that matter…_

After a brief walk through the village, a large building with the recognizable **INN** sign came into view, and they made their way inside.

As they walked in, a small bell connected to the door let out a small chime; and all the eyes in the inn fixated themselves to the nine of them walking through the door.

All at once, everyone except the two Venus adepts rushed over to the couches and chairs near the fireplace to sit down and rest; they rightly deserved it. All of them let out sighs of relief, yawns of exhaustion, and moans of aching could all be heard from the group as they finally got a chance to relax.

Felix and Isaac walked over to the innkeepers counter to rent rooms for the night. However, the innkeeper gave Felix a strange look as he walked up to the counter.

"That couldn't be you… Felix!?" the innkeeper asked in disbelief.

Felix smiled a little, "I'm glad at least one person recognized me!"

"Been a long time! And man how you've changed! I don't remember your hair being so long… and you seem different as well… I don't know what to call it, but it seems like you have a different air around you than before."

Felix scratched the back of his head, "I guess I have changed quite a bit huh?"

The innkeeper let out a small laugh "Hah! It's good to see you again! I see you brought company this time around."

Felix nodded, "Yes, some friends I met along the way."

He looked around at the company Felix brought and raised an eyebrow, "So where are Saturos, Menardi, Karst and Agatio? Shouldn't they lhave come back with you?"

Felix was taken aback by the question, but hid his expression well. _Hmm. If they didn't stop by the inn then they must have left right after they arrived… _

"They haven't returned yet? That's odd. Perhaps they're still on their way; they did have to travel farther than we did and they had more to do after all." He knew he was lying through his teeth, but now was definitely not the time to bring up those four.

The innkeeper shrugged, "Hmm, oh well. So what can I do ya for, Felix?"

"We need rooms and dinner for tonight, and breakfast tomorrow morning. Think you can manage?" The innkeeper nodded.

"So how much do I owe you then?" Felix asked.

"For you, Felix? It's on the house. It's really the least I can do for you helping Prox."

Felix shook his head, "I insist, considering the current conditions of Prox, you need this a lot more than I do." As he finished his sentence, he tossed a bag of gold coins on the counter.

The innkeeper smiled, "You always were stubborn Felix, I appreciate it. You know where the rooms are, go ahead and take your pick. Not many visitors nowadays anyway." He pointed to a flight of stairs leading downward and disappeared behind a door that led to the back of the inn.

Felix merely stood in the same spot lost in thought.

"Felix? C'mon, let's join the others." Isaac said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Felix shook his head, "Hmm? Oh, right."

As they both made their way over to where the others were Felix's thoughts were racing.

_If they didn't tell anyone they returned… Then does anyone know that Saturos and Menardi are dead..? What have they gotten themselves into?_

* * *

Dinner was served about half an hour after the nine of them got there, and everyone ate earnestly. They had little to eat all day, so all of them enjoyed having food in their stomachs. After they had all eaten their fill, the eight adepts returned to sitting around the fireplace while Kraden retreated to his room to do his usual researching.

Everyone sat in silence, mesmerized by the fire crackling in the hearth. It had been a long day, so all of them were exhausted; Piers and Mia especially, as they had night watch duty the previous night.

Felix finally stood up from his seat after a while and broke the silence. "Alright everyone, you should try and get some rest, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Isaac and I have some things to take care of in town first, but we'll be back."

Jenna looked at Isaac oddly, "Oh? And just where are you two going?" The question was more directed at Isaac than Felix.

"We have some errands to take care of around town." Felix said.

Isaac stretched and got up from his spot beside Jenna, "Don't worry. We won't be too long."

Mia stretched and yawned, "Well you don't have to tell me twice, Felix… I think I'm just gunna go ahead and go to sleep now."

Piers let out a sigh and shook his head, "Agreed, Mia. I'm exhausted after guard duty last night and traveling all day."

Mia laughed, "I know, right?" She gave Garet a small peck on the cheek before standing up and saying, "Goodnight!" to everyone.

Piers also said goodnight to everyonm before they headed to their respective rooms to get some sleep.

Garet shook his head, "I think I'm going to hang out a bit longer before I knock out."

"Yeah, I'm with Garet.. This spot is to cozy to get up anyway.." Sheba said as she nestled her head deeper into Ivan's chest. Jenna laughed to herself a bit.

Felix sighed, "Seriously guys, try and get some sleep. I don't want any slip ups tomorrow because you guys are still tired."

"Okay, _mom, _I'll try and get some sleep, geez." Ivan said sarcastically. Everyone, including Isaac broke into light laughter.

"Don't worry, _oh wise leader_, we'll all be fine for tomorrow." Garet said.

Felix brought his palm to his face, "Just try and get some rest…"

"You're a hypocrite you know that?" Jenna said as she looked at Felix.

Felix raised an eyebrow and surprise, "Me? How so?"

"Yes you! First you tell everybody to get some sleep, and now you go out and do 'errands?' Why don't you just let me go do them and why don't _you_ go get some sleep?"

Felix shook his head, "I appreciate the offer Jenna, but it's my responsibility as a leader. Plus, you don't know your way around Prox like I do."

Jenna crossed her arms and grunted, "Fiiiine. But please don't stay out to long? Leaders need sleep too ya know. And that means _both _leaders." She said as she gave them both a prying look. "And... I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier..."

Isaac shook his head and gave Jenna a small peck on the cheek, "Don't worry, Jen. We won't be out too long."

Felix nodded, "Right. Let's go Isaac."

Isaac nodded and the two of them left through the door into the blizzard of Prox; the bell on the door making the same chime as it did an hour ago.

As Jenna watched them both leave, she shook her head. _I don't have a good feeling about this…_

* * *

As the two Venus adepts walked through the door of the inn, they were immediately buffeted by snow and wind once again.

"So where are we off to first?" Isaac asked; his arm in front of his face to shield the snow and wind.

"First thing's first; we go check on our parents." Felix stated firmly.

Isaac nodded, "I still can't believe my father is alive… I wonder what my mom will say..."

Felix shook his head, "I know it may seem unreal, but I assure you that your father and my parents are alive. They've been stuck here ever since I left… It will be nice to see them again after all this time."

"Yeah… it will be nice… Although…"

"Although what?"

"I don't really know what I'm going to say to him, you know? I can't just walk up and say, 'Oh hey dad! I've come to bring you home after I thought you were dead for three years!' That would just be kinda… weird… don't you think?"

Felix let out a small laugh, "I suppose. I'm sure you'll think of something when we get there."

After a short walk through the eastern side of town, the two of them stumbled upon a small house that was somewhat isolated from the rest of Prox.

Felix pointed to the house, "That is where they've been staying. Hopefully they haven't gone to sleep yet."

Isaac was a little surprised, "Seems nice enough. I thought when you said they were being held 'captive' it would have been in like a jail or something."

As they walked up to the front door, they both noticed that it was slightly ajar and no light could be seen from anywhere on the inside.

Felix raised an eyebrow, _the door is open? That's odd… they never used to leave anything open or unlocked…_

"You sure this is the place, Felix? It looks like nobody has been here in days."

Felix shook his head, "This is definitely the house… but it looks like you're right Isaac."

Felix pushed the door open further, and it let out a loud creaking noise until it stopped. The two of them walked into the dark house blindly, not knowing what to expect.

"**Hello! Mom! Dad! Kyle! You guys here!?**" Felix yelled into the darkness.

Suddenly there was a loud bump followed by "**OUCH**. Damn table!" from Isaac.

Felix shook his head and laughed a bit, "Isaac, look for a lantern or something on that table."

Ignoring the pain in his foot, Isaac felt around the top of the table for the said lantern. After shuffling items around for a minute or so, he found the flint, tinder and the lantern. Soon after, light filled the room.

Looking around, it was a nice cozy house. It honestly looked more like a guest house than a 'captive' house. It was fitting for the three people who were claimed to have been living here, it was not too much, nor was it too little.

"Let's look upstairs." Felix said. Isaac nodded and they searched the entire house from top to bottom; and yet there was still no sign of their parents. Eventually they made their way back to the living room.

"Well they're obviously not here Felix, so where the hell are they?" Isaac asked clearly annoyed.

Felix shook his head, "I'll be completely honest Isaac. I have no idea."

"Bullshit Felix! You 'assured' me that my father would be here! How the hell can you not know where he is!?" Isaac yelled.

"Calm down Isaac. Trust me, I'm just as upset as you are, but there is no point in getting worked up over it." Felix retorted.

Isaac crossed his arms, "You're one to talk, Felix! You were the one yelling at Jenna earlier!"

Felix clenched a tight fist. He was beginning to lose his temper again. He blew up on Jenna earlier, and in addition to his missing parents, Isaac was starting to piss him off. He took a deep breath. _No, I have to keep a level head._

Isaac noticed him tighten a fist and readied himself to block a hit and retaliate if necessary.

Felix shook his head, "Drop it Isaac. You know damn well that shouting won't help us out in the least." Felix responded.

Isaac sighed, "You're right… Sorry… I just… really… wanted to see him again…"

"I know exactly how you feel, but getting upset won't fix anything."

Isaac nodded back.

"Well then, what do you propose we do? Do you have any ideas?" Felix asked calmly.

Isaac shook his head, "Well… is there anyone who _would _know where they could have gone? I bet Karst or Agatio had something to do with it."

Felix brought his hand to his chin in thought. "Remember though, the innkeeper didn't even know that Karst or Agatio had come back. But… they are definitely here because we saw Menardi's ship."

Isaac also brought his hand to his chin in thought, "Hmm... Well, would they have talked to anyone when they came back? It wouldn't seem smart to return without stopping and telling at least _someone_."

"That's true. Hmm…" Felix snapped his fingers, "I bet Karst talked with Lyn when she returned."

Isaac raised an eyebrow, "Lyn? Who's that?"

"Lyn is… Menardi and Karst's mother." Felix responded.

Isaac's eyes widened, "Uhh, are you sure it would be a good idea for me to meet her?"

Felix shook his head, "I don't know… but if we want to find out where our parents are…"

Isaac nodded, "Then let's go."

Once more, Felix and Isaac made their way into the blizzard. Lyn's house was on the opposite side of the village and on their way there, they passed Proxian citizens again. Sorrow was carved into the faces of each they passed by.

Isaac shook his head as he read the expressions of all those he passed. _No place on Weyard deserves this. This town is so.. miserable.._

Felix also thought to himself as he passed by. _Damn, things only seemed to have gotten worse since we left.. _

Upon reaching the front door of Lyn's house, Felix knocked on it several times. After hearing footsteps approach the door from the inside, Lyn popped her head out from behind it.

Her eyes immediately widened, "Felix! You've returned! And you've brought a friend I see. Come inside!" She opened the door for the two of them and they walked into the living room.

"Make yourselves at home, I'll go and get some tea for us." Lyn said as she went into the kitchen.

Isaac and Felix both sat down on the couch across from the fireplace. Lyn returned shortly after with a tray and three cups of tea. She gave a cup to both Felix and Isaac and they both thanked her. She grabbed the last cup for herself as she took a seat in the chair next to the couch.

Lyn smiled, "It's nice to see you again, Felix. I'm glad to see you're alright."

Felix smiled back, "And it's nice to see you again as well, Lyn."

"So I see you've brought company, what's your name dear?" She asked directed at Isaac.

Isaac paused for a moment. He didn't know whether or not to give his real name, or a fake name. Isaac didn't know if she knew that he was the one responsible for killing her daughter. He didn't know how she would react if he revealed his name. _She's bound to find out who I am eventually… _

"My name… is… Isaac." He said slowly.

Lyn's eyes widened and the hand holding her cup trembled, "Then that means you're the one…"

Isaac nodded, "Yes. I am the one who killed your daughter." He said sternly.

Felix's mouth went slightly agape, and his eyes widened as well. He couldn't believe that exchange of words just happened. He didn't know what to do or say and his eyes darted back and forth between Lyn and Isaac.

An awkward silenced followed as Lyn looked Isaac up and down. Isaac however didn't falter once, and met Lyn's eyes whenever she looked him in the eye. Both of them were merely sipping on their tea the entire time this went on.

Lyn finally let out a sigh and shook her head, "It's funny… you are not at all what I expected to see. I anticipated a hardened thug, and yet here you are in front of me; a mere child who looks as though he wouldn't hurt a fly. I see no desire for harm unto others in your eyes… In fact, what I get from you is the exact opposite… the desire to help those in need…"

Isaac shook his head, "You must understand it was never my intent to see Saturos and Menardi die. They went to their limit to try and defeat myself and my friends. We were only defending ourselves… We didn't expect them to push themselves to their deaths …Words cannot describe how deeply sorry I am, Lyn. I know an apology from me seems like such a petty thing, especially now…but I am truly sorry."

Felix decided now was a good time to interject, "You must take into account that Saturos and Menardi also invaded Vale's sacred Sol Sanctum, kidnapped my sister and a scholar – Kraden. Isaac was tasked with stopping them not only by his village, but by the Wise One as well. You can't blame him entirely for what happened.

Lyn took a deep breath, "I understand. Those two never were the most civil Proxians to come out of this village. It would be pointless to hold a grudge against you, Isaac, especially now considering our current situation… However, I cannot forgive you just yet, Isaac… even though she seemed like an evil person, Menardi was still my daughter. She was only holding Prox's best interests at heart.

Isaac nodded, "I never expected you to forgive me, and I never will to be completely honest… I just hope that you may find it within yourself one day to forgive me." Lyn nodded back at him.

Felix furrowed his brow, "Lyn, what do you mean when you say 'our current situation?' What else happened besides the obvious conditions getting worse?"

Lyn shook her head as she grabbed the letter that Karst had given her a week and a half ago. The seal on the letter was already broken, as Lyn had already read the letter against Karst's instructions.

Lyn handed Felix the letter, "Karst told me that if she wasn't back in three days I needed to give this to you when you returned."

Felix became nervous as he unfolded the letter and read the contents of it. The very first line made his eyes widen and his hands shake.

_Dearest Felix,_

_ If you are reading this letter, then I am most likely dead. Agatio and I are leaving tonight for the Mars Lighthouse to attempt to light the beacon. Since I haven't returned in person to tell you this news, then you can assume the worst. No one will be accompanying us, but you know very well that we must do whatever we can for Prox, even if it means our lives. My mother doesn't want us to go, and I'm sure Puelle and the Elder would say the same, but we have a duty to at least try to save them and the rest of Prox. _

_Felix, I ask only one thing from you. I ask only that after you read this, set out for the Mars Lighthouse and retrieve the Mars Star from me. It is currently in my possession, and not even in death will anything pry it from my hands; only you may retrieve it. Take it from me and set the Mars beacon ablaze, so that you might save Prox and my people. Do this not for me, but for the sake of Prox and Weyard itself. _

_I am also truly sorry Felix. I'm sure you cannot forgive me for what I did atop the Jupiter Lighthouse. Attacking you, your friends, and even your sister was uncalled for. I was so stung with grief at the loss of my sister, and it twisted into anger and rage. How could I not attack Isaac – the one who killed my sister - when he stood right in front of my face with all of the sorrow and wrath in me? However, it still does not justify my actions, and I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me._

_During your stay here in Prox, the two of us grew very close, Felix. With how complicated my family and life was, I never really made any genuine friends. You were the first one to actually listen to everything I had to say and empathize with my plight. This was the first real companionship I have ever experienced outside of my fellow mirashtalos. I might even go so far as to call it infatuation? I know not. Whatever the case may be, I thank you for letting me experience such emotions before I died._

_Please grant me my one last wish, Felix, save Prox. That is all I ask._

_ Truly yours,_

_ Karstine_

As Felix read the last of the letter, he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, "Lyn, how long ago did Karst leave?"

Lyn shook her head, "She left about a week and half ago." She said solemnly.

Felix merely clenched his fist tighter and gritted his teeth harder. _Gods damn it all! They left without waiting for us!? What kind of stupid move was that!? She better be alright or I'll never forgive myself…_

"You alright, Felix? What'd it say?" Isaac finally asked.

Felix's reaction didn't change, "Well… I don't know about our parents, Isaac… But Karst and Agatio already went to the Mars Lighthouse… and judging from this letter… they've failed… Not only that, but those two were Prox's last pair of _mirashtalos_…"

A tear found its way down Lyn's face, "I don't know what to do Felix… First my little Karstine comes home to tell me that Menardi is dead, and now she claims to be dead as well… what do I do, Felix!? All of them are gone…" Lyn cried.

Felix shook his head, "Lyn, there's no way Karst and Agatio died to a couple of monsters in the Lighthouse. They are much too powerful for that. There must have been _something_ that stopped them… I'm certain they're both still alive, Lyn."

"Well then shouldn't we go find them?" Isaac interrupted.

"Yes. And we're leaving for the Lighthouse right now." Felix said determined.

Isaac gave Felix a serious look, "Felix, I know you're worried about Karst, but let's think about this rationally for a second-"

"The longer we stand around and think, the more danger those two could be in, Isaac!" Felix yelled back.

Isaac nodded, "I understand that, but-"

"No! You don't understand, Isaac! You never did understand! That's why we're in this situation to begin with! You know very well you'd do the same if it was Jenna in that damned Lighthouse!" Felix shouted.

"Dammit, Felix! Would you just listen to me for a fucking second here?" Isaac howled back.

Felix merely stood silent, waiting for Isaac to say his piece.

"I never said we shouldn't go rescue them, but we have to be practical about this. First of all, it's late. It's only going to get colder from this point on, which will make traveling to the Lighthouse tough."

"The Mars Lighthouse isn't very far from here; it shouldn't take more than half an hour to travel there." Felix replied.

Isaac shook his head, "Secondly, we've been traveling non-stop the last few days to reach here. I don't think any of the team would be willing to go especially at this hour."

"I never said we were bringing them. Let the others rest, they deserve it. It has been a rough couple of days for them."

"So you want to just waltz into the Mars Lighthouse to save Agatio and Karst without the rest of the team? Sure sounds like a rash plan to me, Felix. Those two were unwavering in their task to light the beacon, and they failed. How do expect just us two to rescue them if they failed?"

Felix shook his head, "Think of it this way. The determination to save Jenna has brought you this far hasn't it? It is no different for Karst. I'm going whether you come with me or not."

Isaac couldn't help but smirk. He understood what Felix meant completely. "I guess you got a point there. You really are determined to save Karst aren't you? Stubborn as you always are I see, Felix."

Felix smirked back, "If you don't know that at this point, then I don't know if I can call you one of my best friends, Isaac."

Isaac shook his head, "Well, after hearing all that, I'm not just about to let you go into the Lighthouse all by yourself. I'm coming with you, no matter how stupid this plan sounds."

"If what you say is true, Felix, then please bring Karstine home safely. I don't think I could bear to lose both of my daughters..." Lyn whimpered.

Felix nodded, "Don't worry Lyn. We'll get them back. I promise."

Lyn nodded back, "Then I'm putting my faith in you both. But please, be careful. I do not wish for the same thing to happen to the two of you."

Felix downed the rest of his tea, "Don't worry about us Lyn. Thank you for the hospitality and the letter Lyn. We'll be back soon. Come on Isaac, let's go."

Isaac also drank the rest of his tea quickly and thanked Lyn one last time before they both ventured into the blizzard of Prox once more.

_Please be careful, Isaac, Felix… and bring back my daughter home safely… _Lyn thought to herself as she heard the door close.

* * *

Like the pair before them, Felix and Isaac stood at the northernmost point of the village of Prox. They stood gazing at the Mars Lighthouse in the distance, while being bitten by the snow and wind. The two of them knew they had their work cut out for them if they hoped to be back before morning.

"Well, shall we then, Felix?" Isaac finally asked.

Felix nodded, "We shall."

With that, the two of them began the trek to the Mars Lighthouse. The walk was substantially tougher than the walk to Prox. It was later in the evening, so it was even colder than it was earlier. More often than not, they flinched at the freezing cold wind when a large gust blew past them. Since they had no means of warming themselves like Mars adepts did, it was much harder on the two of them.

After another long walk through the icy, windswept plains of the Northern Reaches, the two Venus adepts found their way into the Mars Lighthouse. As they entered, they both shook all the snow off of their bodies, as it had started to stick to them while walking.

"Venus… I don't think I've ever been so cold in my life." Isaac said shivering.

"I know what you mean. It only seems to have gotten colder since I was last here." Felix replied.

Isaac shook the last of the snow off himself and jumped several times to try to warm himself. "So… where do we start?"

Felix shook his head, "That's a good question; I've never been here before. Your guess is as good as mine."

As the two of them looked around they noticed the Lighthouse was littered in some places with large, icy spires that seemed to stem from the floor. However, it was clear that somebody had been through here recently, as some of the ice was cleared into a path.

"Looks like they've been here." Isaac said.

Felix nodded, "No doubt about it. The only problem is finding them, this place is enormous."

Isaac nodded back and checked out several paths he was contemplating on taking.

"Well, I guess let's take this one." Isaac said pointing down a hallway.

Felix nodded, and with that the two Venus adepts ventured deeper and deeper into the Mars Lighthouse. Like the pair before them, it seemed that they had belittled the potential of the monsters in the Lighthouse. Despite their skills, the sheer number of monsters was a problem. Many times, they stood outnumbered. Not to mention having to fight so frequently on little sleep and one meal didn't help them at all.

They both began to grow tired and started to falter during several of their encounters; which caused them to get hit multiple times causing shreds in their clothes along with cuts, scrapes, and bruises on their bodies. However, the two of them continued to search high and low for Karst and Agatio. They would not let these monsters get in their way, no matter how many there were.

_No wonder why Karst and Agatio haven't returned… there are so many damned monsters in this place. No matter, I'll cut all of them down if that's what it takes to find Karst… _Felix thought as he and Isaac fought on.

* * *

"_Huh? Where am I?" Ivan said as he looked around. There were dragon statues in every which direction and the walls were a profound red. 'This must be the Mars Lighthouse.' He thought to himself. _

"Isaac!" Felix yelled as he watched Isaac take a blow. He tried to run over to where Isaac was, but was cut off by several Minos Warriors. Felix gritted his teeth and prepared himself to parry attacks.

A horde of Minos Warriors, Aka Manahs, and Devil Frogs surrounded Felix and Isaac. This was the biggest wave of monsters they had to face yet, and it seemed that the noise from them continually casting and fighting was only drawing more of them to the scene.

Isaac cried out in pain as he was knocked into a wall from a Minos Warrior. He stood up shakily, as he and Felix had been fighting non-stop for what seemed like hours. The two of them were reaching their limit.

_Isaac hit the wall right next to Ivan. "Isaac! Are you alright!?" Ivan shouted as he went to help Isaac up. However, his hands only went through him. "What!?" He looked at his hands and noticed that he was ethereal. He couldn't offer any help to either of them. "What's going on?" _

Isaac smiled as line of blood dripped from his mouth, "You really think I'm going down that easy, Felix?"

Isaac then yelled as his Gaia Blade glowed, preparing to unleash. He held the blade above his head, and a massive Titan Blade came down and impaled the Minos Warrior that had knocked him into the wall. After the Minos Warrior was vaporized by the Titan Blade, he was immediately engaged by several more monsters.

"For our sake I sure as hell hope not!" Felix yelled back as he cut down several monsters.

"Felix, we can't keep going like this. There's no end to these damned things!" Isaac shouted. He was trying his best to keep monsters at bay without using any pysnergy.

Felix knew Isaac was right. He and Isaac were battered, beaten, bruised and they were starting to run out of psynergy. At this rate, the two of them wouldn't be able to keep up with how many monsters kept showing up. They had to end this quickly.

Felix was distracted by the monsters in front of him and from what Isaac said that he didn't notice an Aka Manah creep up behind him.

"_**Felix look out!" **__Sheba screamed. She was standing beside Felix and attempted to block the attack by standing in front of him. _

Felix's eyes went wide as he finally noticed the Aka Manah from behind with its kama already mid swing. He had no time to dodge, and so he braced himself. He cried out in pain as the kama found its way across his chest. He jumped backwards, knelt over and clutched his chest.

'_What!? That went right through me?' Sheba thought to herself. She too checked her body and noticed that she was also ethereal. "Oh gods, Felix! Are you okay!?" She shouted as she ran over to him. She tried to touch him, but her hands also merely went through him. _

Blood dripped out of the fresh wound on his chest. Felix had to seal his would before he could retaliate, and so quickly casted a Potent Cure to heal it. The Aka Manah wasn't done though, it noticed it had an opening and lunged at Felix once more, while he casted his healing spell.

Isaac looked over at Felix and panicked. "Felix!" Isaac shouted as he disengaged the monsters he was fighting and ran over to him. Just as the Aka Manah was about to slice Felix for the second time, the Gaia Blade erupted out of the front of its chest. It let out a shriek of pain before it dematerialized.

"Nice save." Felix said as he took Isaac's hand to help himself up.

Isaac shook his head, "No prob. But there's more where he came from."

The two of them stood back to back, looked around and noticed they were completely surrounded. Unless they managed to defeat the immense force of monsters in encircling them, they were trapped here.

"Looks like this is it then huh, Felix?" Isaac said boldly. It was more of a statement then a question.

"I guess so, Isaac." He let out a small laugh. "Jenna will never forgive us for this."

Isaac laughed a little himself, "I'm honestly more afraid of what she'll do to us when she finds us than these monsters."

The monsters merely drew closer as the two were talking to each other.

"Well let's at least try to take out as many as we can before we go down." Felix said.

"How about we make this a little interesting?" Isaac asked.

"I'm listening." Felix stated.

The monsters were even closer to them now, enclosing them in a smaller circle.

"Whoever takes out the most monsters wins, the loser has to treat the team to a night out sometime." Isaac claimed.

"You're on." Felix replied.

With that, all of the monsters lunged at the two of them, and the fight picked up once again.

_Ivan and Sheba watched as Felix as Isaac valiantly fought off the horde of monsters realizing that they couldn't help at all. Isaac and Felix couldn't hear them, nor could they touch or cast anything. It killed them that they could only watch as Felix and Isaac fought for their lives._

_It seemed that Isaac and Felix had turned the tide of the fight in their favor, as they were cutting down monsters left and right without so much as taking a scratch. After a short while though, Isaac and Felix began to waver. Soon after the tide of the fight was turned in the monsters favor. _

_The two Venus adepts began to take blow after blow until they were no longer retaliating, and merely taking hit after hit, being juggled around by the horde of monsters. Blood flowed freely from every cut on their bodies. Soon enough Isaac and Felix were knocked to the ground and failed to stand up again. _

_Sheba's eyes went wide as put her hands over her mouth and began to cry while Ivan's eyes did the same and his mouth went agape. They watched as both Isaac and Felix were mauled by the monsters. It was a truly gruesome scene, with blood-caked blades, horns and claws all finding their way into various places on the Venus adepts' bodies. There was no getting up for the two of them. _

_After the monsters were satisfied at the damage they had done, they all found their way back into the dark corners of the Lighthouse from whence they came, leaving the mangled bodies of the two Venus adepts to lie where they fell. _

_Sheba and Ivan walked over to them, and they looked in horror as they looked at the injury the two of them sustained. Some of their limbs were twisted in ways that the two know they should not bend. Neither of them were moving, and pools of blood formed underneath each of them. _

"_This can't be happening…" Ivan said in shock. Sheba was silently crying, not saying a word as she looked upon their two former leaders with Ivan. _

The two Jupiter adepts then immediately sat up and screamed in shock. Both of them were short of breath and sweating profusely. Sheba still had tears running down her cheeks.

"Did… you just see that as well, Sheba?" Ivan asked, hugging her to comfort her.

"Y-yeah. That was one hell of a nightmare…" Sheba responded, obviously shaken.

It seemed that the two of them had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the fireplace where they were sitting before Isaac and Felix left. Everyone else had already gone to their rooms to sleep, but the two of them had been so comfy they didn't move from their spot on the couch.

"No kidding…" Ivan responded letting out a sigh.

After the brief conversation, the two of them went silent again, gazing at the fire in the hearth. As usual, they were going through each other's minds and communicating through their mind read ability rather than speaking.

"_Ivan, you don't think that-"_

"_Why must you put such thoughts in my head, Sheba?"_

"_I'm just saying! Don't you find it a little strange that we both had the __**same **__nightmare?" _

"_I will admit it did seem real. But Isaac and Felix are probably in their rooms fast asleep by now."_

"_We should still go check… just to make sure… You know as well as I do that it could have been a vision."_

The more Ivan thought about it the more he began to get unsettled. That nightmare was so vivid, it seemed almost too real to ignore.

"_Alright fine. Let's go." _

And so the two Jupiter adepts made their way down the flight of stairs in the lobby and to the end of the hall where Isaac and Felix had claimed their rooms. The two of them stood in front of Isaac's door unsure of what to do. Ivan let out a deep sigh. _It was only a dream, nothing more. Don't worry; they'll both be in their rooms fast asleep…_

"Isaac?" Ivan said as he knocked on the door. There was no response.

"Isaac? You awake?"" he asked louder as he knocked a little louder as well. Still there was no response.

Ivan took the torch off of the wall next to Isaac's room and gulped. "Isaac!" he somewhat shouted as he opened the door. He lifted the torch into the darkness only to find a completely vacant room.

As Sheba looked into the room only to see it unoccupied, she panicked, "Ivan!?" She asked anxiously.

Ivan immediately went out of Isaac's room and walked across the hallway to Felix's room. He opened the door to his room to find the same thing; a totally empty room.

Ivan's eyes widened, "Oh no… they wouldn't… they didn't…"

Sheba merely put her hand over her mouth, and Ivan could tell she was about to start crying.

"_Now do you believe me, Ivan!?" _

Ivan brought his hands to head in complete disarray. _Oh Gods! What do we do!? They went into the Lighthouse by themselves! What made them think that was a good idea!?" _His thoughts were going everywhere at once. "_What if they're already dead? What if it's too late? How will we manage without Felix and Isaac?"_

"_Dammit, Ivan! Now's not the time for thinking like this! We have to wake the others and go help them quickly!_ _We might be able to catch up to them if we hurry…"_

Ivan shook his head, _"You're right. You get Jenna and Mia, I'll wake Garet and Piers…"_

Sheba ran down the hall with tears running down her cheeks to wake up her fellow adepts.

"_What the hell were those two thinking!?" _Ivan thought to himself as he ran down the hallway to get his companions.

* * *

"Come on! This way, Isaac!" Felix yelled back as he ran up a flight of stairs.

Isaac was running a little ways behind Felix with a huge number of monsters following him. Isaac glanced behind him as he was running, and saw a horde of monsters trailing him, which made him run even faster up the stairs.

After reaching the top of the stairs Felix paused briefly to look at his surroundings. They hadn't been on this floor yet, so he had no idea which way to go. In front of him was a massive rift in the floor with platforms rising up out of the darkness. However, some of the platforms were slicked with ice, it was a dangerous idea, but they had no choice with how many monsters were chasing them.

Felix got a running start and jumped to the first platform, without losing any momentum, he jumped to the next. He lost his balance slightly as he slid across the ice on the second platform, preparing to make the treacherous jump to the third platform, which was spaced much further than the others. After reaching the very end of the ice, he jumped as far as he could.

_Shit! _Felix thought as he flew towards the third platform, he knew he didn't jump far enough, and thought he was going to fall into the darkness. With adrenaline surging through his body, he grabbed the ledge of the platform with both hands and his body slammed against the side of the platform. He let out a grunt of pain, as slamming his chest into the side of the platform hurt a lot.

Struggling and grumbling, he pulled himself up onto the ledge and was slow to stand up again. He put his hands on his knees, attempting to regain his breath. He looked up for a second and noticed Isaac finally come up the flight of stairs.

"Isaac, over here!" Felix yelled. He pointed to the various platforms he had jumped across to get to where he currently was.

Isaac acknowledged Felix and retreated a few steps back to get a running start. Isaac mirrored exactly what Felix did. However, as Isaac jumped to the first platform, the monsters trailing them reached the top of the stairs. Without missing a beat, the monsters followed hot on Isaac's tail, jumping to the first platform while he was sliding across the ice on the second. As Isaac reached the end of the ice covered platform he looked at Felix distressed.

"Jump, now!" Felix yelled.

Isaac took the biggest leap he could, but he noticed he was short just as Felix had been. He reached out to grab the edge of the third platform just as Felix had done, but his fingers were just out of reach of edge. His eyes widened as he thought he was going down, but just before he slipped out of reach, Felix grabbed his arm.

Isaac looked up at Felix and saw his face had a strained expression. Holding Isaac was taking most of his already non-existent strength. Finding the power from seemingly nowhere, Felix pulled Isaac up onto the ledge and they both fell over in exhaustion. While laying there out of breath, they looked over at the monsters still trailing them, expecting them to pounce onto them.

However, as the monsters slid across the ice, they had absolutely no sense of balance, and one by one, they all slid off of the second ice covered platform and into the deep darkness below, each of them letting out howls and cries of anger as they fell. One Devil Frog managed to grab the edge with one of its claws, but Isaac quickly stabbed his Gaia Blade into it, and like the others it plummeted down into the abyss.

Felix and Isaac let out a sigh of relief as they could finally relax, and regain their breath.

"Nice save there, Felix... I thought… I was done for." Isaac panted.

"No problem, Isaac… I almost… didn't make that jump myself." Felix responded, out of breath himself.

After resting for a short while in silence so as not attract any more unnecessary attention from another horde of monsters, Isaac finally asked, "So… where do we go now?"

Felix shook his head, "Like I said before, my guess is as good as yours."

Isaac's brow furrowed as he noticed something in the corner of the room, "Hey, what's that over there?" he pointed.

Felix looked over to where Isaac was pointing and had to squint to make out the object. "It looks like… a chest?"

"We should check it out, could be something useful in there." Isaac said.

Felix nodded as he looked at the surrounding platforms to find the best way to get over to it. The chest was on a platform in the corner of the room that was half covered in ice, so the two of them had to be careful in which way they chose to go.

Carefully jumping from platform to platform once again, the two of them made their way over to the chest. They both looked at it, then at each other. Isaac nodded, and Felix clicked open the lock. As he opened the chest, a bright light shone from it. After reaching inside, Felix pulled out an incredible looking blade.

It was a long, golden colored blade; the likes that Felix and Isaac had never seen before. It started broad at the hilt and came into an extremely sharp point at the tip. The edges of the sword were extremely sharp as well. At the bottom of the hilt was a golden colored jewel that shone bright in the light. A symbol of Sol rested on the guard, and when Felix pulled it out of the chest fully into the light, a small flame flared at the tip of the blade.

Felix turned the blade and looked it over many times, and Isaac watched in awe as he did so. He finally found the inscription found on all artifacts that stated the name of the weapon. It was inscribed into the hilt, almost hidden from sight. It read _The Sol Blade._

Felix handed the sword to Isaac for him to look at, as the blade was that impressive. Isaac also turned it and looked it over carefully. After Isaac had finished looking over the sword he and Felix looked each other in the eye. They both knew what the other was thinking.

Isaac smirked, "As cool as this sword is, I think I'll just stick with my Gaia Blade." He said handing the Sol Blade back to Felix.

Felix nodded, "Thank you, Isaac."

"Now come on, let's go find Karst and Agatio." Isaac said, taking the lead.

* * *

Ivan and Sheba had woken up the others and informed them about their vision. All of them concluded it couldn't be a coincidence, and so they too set out into the Mars Lighthouse in search of their missing leaders. The six adepts once more had to manage on little sleep, and now it was definitely starting to become a problem. The bags under their eyes were even bigger now, and were clearly visible on all their faces.

The monsters were numerous in the Mars Lighthouse. Although they had a group four members more than their counterparts, it was still quite a challenge for them. Not only this, but without Felix and Isaac to lead them into combat, their fighting was very awkward and hazardous. They were not in sync with each other, and many times over friendly fire occurred between them.

Like the pairs that went before them, they also were beginning to get beaten up not only from the waves of monsters, but from each other as well. Tension was beginning to rise between all of them, from the fatigue of not having a good night's sleep for days, their constant worry about Felix and Isaac; and the continual number of times they would accidently hit one another with a spell or get in the way of each other.

After slaying their latest group of beasts, they all stopped to take a breather before continuing walking down a hallway that had been impeded by monsters. In that moment, none of them could hold it in any longer. All of them snapped at each other.

"So what's your deal, Ivan!? That's like the fifth time in a row you've shocked me with your damn Spark Plasma!" Garet accused.

"What are you talking about? Every time you hear me cast it, you just jump into whatever group I casted it on!" Ivan retorted.

"Hey, Mia. You think you could stop slacking and keep up with the healing?! I had to heal that whole last fight by myself!" Jenna interrupted snootily, crossing her arms.

"Excuse me?! I was making sure everybody was cleansed of poison during that last engagement. If I didn't do that, then that bite you suffered in the last battle would have already festered!" Mia replied snobby putting her hands on her hips.

"How about you stop worrying about what Mia is doing and concentrate on yourself, Jenna? You've been working poor Haze to the bone because of how careless you've been!" Sheba said harshly, petting her small Djinni on the head.

"It's not my fault that monsters slip by Garet and Piers!" Jenna shouted.

"Oh yeah, so this is all my fault now? And what the hell has Piers done? We're trying our best here!" Garet yelled.

"It's your fault for burning Sheba earlier if that's what you mean." Ivan said annoyed.

"Is that what this is about, Ivan!? It was an accident, and Garet already apologized ten times over! Would you get over it already?!" Sheba replied starkly.

"Garet and I are trying the best we can, Jenna. It's tough without Felix and Isaac to hold off this many creatures without letting some get by." Piers shook his head, "But arguing amongst ourselves will solve nothing! How do you expect to find Felix and Isaac if we can't even act as a team while they're not around?!" He said raising his voice in frustration.

Jenna let out a sigh, "Piers is right, we really should just concentrate on finding Isaac and Felix."

"You're one to talk, Jenna. Considering all of this started from when you yelled at Felix." Garet replied angrily.

Jenna clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Once more, fiery psynergetic sparks snapped around her. She gave him a harsh look, "What did you just say, Garet?!"

"Oh you know damn well what I just said, Jenna!" Garet said, returning her glaring stare. The air around him heated up substantially, and the rest of the group could feel it.

Everyone was silent waiting for what would be said next. Everyone thought another heated fight would ensue like the one Jenna and Felix had earlier. However, the tension was broken by Garet in a way nobody was expecting. As they made their way to the end of the hallway, it abruptly ended into small carved out ledge. Jenna and Garet were so locked into their death glares at each other that Garet wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

Garet's foot slipped in front of him. "Ahhh!" He screamed as he fell.

"Garet!" Everybody shouted in unison. They immediately went over to the ledge, and as the five looked over it at Garet laying on his back, all of them broke out into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah! Go ahead, laugh it up while I'm just laying here in pain!" Garet said mockingly.

Mia was the first down to help him up, "You alright?" She laughed.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Garet laughed back as he took both of Mia's hands and stood back up.

"No offense, Garet, but you totally deserved that." Jenna said smugly.

"I'm with Jenna on that one." Ivan added.

Garet shook his head and smirked, "Would you two just shut up already?"

While they the rest of the group was talking amongst themselves, Piers was looking around the room they had just jumped down into.

"It would seem that this room has no exit." Piers said.

All of them gave Piers a weird look, and looked around the room themselves.

Garet shook his head, "Look down."

All of them looked beneath their feet and saw a teleport rune circle. It was almost hidden in plain sight, as frost had started to find its way into the runes. A large deposit of ice in the corner of the room was the source of the frost in this particular room.

"Teleport runes!" Mia exclaimed.

"Good eyes, Garet." Piers said.

"I saw it while I was falling, but it looks like that's our only way out." Garet replied as he looked throughout the room once more.

Jenna used a bit of her psynergy and began to melt the frost and ice covering the teleportation runes.

"But we don't have the lapis yet, how do you expect to get out of here?" Sheba asked.

As Jenna finished melting away the frost and ice in the corner she yelled at everyone else, "Hey check it out guys!"

All of them made their way over to where Jenna was and saw a chest with the bottom half still frozen to the ground. Jenna opened it, and took out a small carved stone that gave off purple-blue hue. It was carved into a cube that fit in her palm.

She stood back up and turned it over several times in her hand, "This has got to be the Teleport Lapis everyone's been talking about." She passed it to Mia after.

Mia nodded, "This is definitely it. After studying with Kraden the last few days, I'm almost sure this is the real thing." She passed it to Garet.

"Hmm. This thing is a lot smaller than I thought it would be." Garet said as he passed it to Piers.

"I believe this would go better in Jupiter adept hands." Piers said as he handed the lapis to Ivan.

"You want this one Sheba?" Ivan asked.

Sheba shook her head, "I already have enough of these things, you can keep this one."

Ivan nodded, "Alright. Well I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work… but everyone hold hands."

Everyone followed Ivan's orders and he held out the Lapis in his palms in front of him. Sheba and Garet put their hands on his shoulders seeing as how he was currently holding the lapis. Ivan closed his eyes and began to focus his psynergy into the Teleport Lapis.

The lapis floated in Ivan's palms and flashed brightly for a moment. All of a sudden all of the bodies of the adepts started to dematerialize into various colors of psynergetic orbs which flew in every which direction until their entire bodies were gone.

In a different room on another teleportation rune, psynergetic orbs of all colors began to converge together, and the six adepts rematerialized once more. They all nodded to each other and continued on their way to search for Felix and Isaac, having completed one task that they came here for without the help of their leaders.

* * *

Isaac and Felix were once more running from a massive horde of monsters chasing them. They had wandered into the lower parts of the Mars Lighthouse, throughout their time inside it. This time however, they couldn't run.

After running over a long bridge that led to a larger room, the two Venus adepts noticed several things. They found an incredibly large iceberg with two massive objects frozen inside them. They couldn't tell what the objects were as the ice was much too thick. They also noticed that they were completely cornered; there was nowhere else to run.

"I guess this is where we turn and fight then." Isaac said, unsheathing the Gaia Blade.

"Good. I've been wanting to test this thing out." Felix stated, drawing the Sol Blade.

Felix as Isaac fearlessly fought off the horde of monsters without missing a beat. They had momentum completely on their side, as they were cutting down monsters left and right without so much as taking a scratch. After a while though, Isaac and Felix began to weaken.

They began to take hits already adding to the number of cuts and bruises they had received earlier. As they both cut down several monsters at once, they retreated and stood back to back. They were completely surrounded and cornered.

"Looks like this is it then huh, Felix?" Isaac said boldly. It was more of a statement then a question.

"I guess so, Isaac." He let out a small laugh. "Jenna will never forgive us for this."

Isaac laughed a little himself, "I'm honestly more afraid of what she'll do to us when she finds us than these monsters."

The monsters merely drew closer as the two were talking to each other.

"Well let's at least try to take out as many as we can before we go down." Felix said.

"How about we make this a little interesting?" Isaac asked.

"I'm listening." Felix stated.

The monsters were even closer to them now, enclosing them in a smaller circle.

"Whoever takes out the most monsters wins, the loser has to treat the team to a night out sometime." Isaac claimed.

"You're on." Felix replied.

They braced themselves for another onslaught as the monsters leapt forward to attack once more. They fought on, tired and beat up as they were. They continued to fell monsters, while simultaneously taking hits. Eventually Isaac and Felix couldn't handle it anymore. Isaac was knocked aside and could only stand halfway up, while Felix was kneeling next to him.

They both prepared for the end as the circle of monsters closed in on them. However, something caught them by surprise. A portion of the wave of monsters that surrounded them was immediately stricken down by jagged icy spears that erupted from the ground.

Isaac and Felix looked at each other confused and the monsters turned around to see what had happened. After the monsters that were killed by the ice had degenerated, Piers was visible with the other five members of the team standing behind him.

"What the hell are you guys doing here!?" Felix yelled.

"I could ask you the same damn question!" Garet shouted as he leapt into several monsters, Mars psynergy exploding out around him felling all that he came across.

"You two are in **SO **much trouble!" Jenna yelled angrily. She casted a powerful Searing Beam through another section of the group, effectively disintegrating everything it touched.

The monsters instantly turned around completely disregarding Isaac and Felix, and charged towards the six of them.

"I don't I've ever been so happy to see Jenna _this _angry." Isaac laughed as he coughed up some blood. Felix laughed a little as well. If it hadn't been for their team, they would most likely be dead by now.

"How bad are you two hurt?" Mia asked appearing next to them. She had snuck her way over to them during that distraction.

Felix shook his head, "Tend to Isaac first."

Mia nodded and began casting her all potent Pure Ply. Healing Mercury psynergy made its way through Isaac's body, and he regained the strength to stand once more. All of the cuts sealed themselves, his bruises faded away, and his muscles didn't ache anymore.

Isaac nodded, "Thanks, Mia! I'll go and hold them off while you heal Felix."

Isaac jumped into the fray once more with renewed vigor. He casted a strong Ragnarok aimed at a group of monsters fighting by the massive iceberg. It was so strong that it felled the monsters with ease and put several cracks in the giant block of ice.

Garet and Jenna were side by side using the monsters as conduits for their repressed anger. It seemed that the more livid the two of them got, the more potent their psynergy. Garet casted a Liquefier in front of them that melted anything and everything it touched. However, it strayed a little too close to the giant iceberg and a portion of it melted away, which also furthered the cracks in it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jenna saw Isaac locking blades with an Aka Manah by the iceberg, and casted a Dragon Fume in his direction. The fiery dragon head of the spell consumed the creature, annihilating it. The spell was so strong that it too collided with the iceberg and melted and cracked away even more of it.

Ivan and Sheba were fighting on the other side of the room with Piers. They had decided to combine their psnergy into one attack, so as to quickly clear out their side of the room. They both casted Spark Plasma at the same time, and the spell struck everywhere with excessive force.

Jenna, Garet, Piers and Isaac had to dodge some of the plasma strikes several times because the spell was that out of control. Most of the creatures on their side of the room had been fried by the spell, and some arcs of lightning from the spell had hit the iceberg in several places, sending more and more cracks into it.

Finally, Felix had been healed enough, and stood up to fight once more. The room had been cleared of monsters to great effect by everyone, as now the remainder of them was now cornered by the iceberg. This time it was his turn. He noticed the Sol Blade glow radiantly, and knew what was about to happen.

He knew not what power this blade had, but now was his time to find out. He jumped high into the air, the Sol Blade glowing ever brighter with every inch he climbed. Soon, the light from the Sol Blade formed into a massive ball of fiery psynergy in front of him. He made a downward slash aiming the tip of the blade at the last group of monsters, and the massive ball of fire descended upon the monsters standing by the iceberg.

Everyone, including the monsters, watched in awe at the power of the attack and a few of them even had to shield their eyes from the brightness of it. The ball exploded on contact with the monsters, and continued into the iceberg, shattering it completely.

The noise of the iceberg shattering was earsplitting, and it echoed down the hallways of the Mars Lighthouse. However, as Felix descended back to the group, what he saw next made his eyes go wider than they ever had before. From the crushed iceberg, two Flame Dragons sprung forth and roared fiercely. The roar reverberated throughout the halls of the Lighthouse as well.

"You've got to be kidding me." Felix said in disbelief.

The Flame Dragons seemed fatigued however, and had to rest momentarily to regain their strength and their bearings. The adepts took this time to regroup and run over to each other.

"Umm guys. Look." Ivan said worriedly, pointing at the end of the hallway they had just walked up.

The sounds of the iceberg shattering and the Flame Dragons roar resonating throughout the Lighthouse had attracted more monsters. More and more groups of roughly ten to twenty of them were running toward them as they were standing there.

"Ohhh, shit." Garet said disheartened.

"**What do we do, Felix!?"** Sheba panicked. Her eyes darted back and forth gauging the situation.

"Please calm down, Sheba, we'll be fine!" Mia said patting Sheba on the back. Although she was calm, she knew their situation was grim, and she was panicking on the inside herself.

"We're not fit to handle this based on our current state, Felix!" Piers exclaimed as he readied his own blade.

Felix gritted his teeth and clenched his fist around the Sol Blade; he had to come up with something quickly.

The Flame dragons regained their posture, seeming to stand up. Meanwhile groups of monsters were making their way even closer towards them from the hallway leading to them, roaring and snorting as they did so.

"Felix! There's no time! What do we do!?" Ivan shouted.

"If you got a plan, now would be a good time to say it." Isaac said, taking up a battle stance.

Felix looked back and forth at the Flame Dragons and the groups of monsters making their way to them. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth even tighter. They were cornered once again. Sure they had all eight adepts this time around, but they were already worn out from previous battles, sleep deprivation, and having to explore most of the lighthouse.

"**Felix, Isaac, you idiots!** You two are the ones who got us into the mess, so how do plan to get us out of it!?" Jenna yelled readying her sword.

Now the two Flame Dragons were charging towards them roaring loudly, and the first group of monsters was about to engage them from behind.

"**FELIX!?" **Everybody shouted anxiously in unison.

"**Listen up! **Mia, Sheba, Garet and I will handle the dragons! Isaac, Jenna, Sheba and Piers will handle the monsters coming up the hallway! When I yell switch, we swap positions! Got it!?"

Everyone nodded nervously and got into their respective teams quickly.

Not one of them was confident in their abilities during this current situation. They were all tired, they were all frustrated with one another, and they were all absolutely sick of all the monsters. The two teams stood with their backs facing each other. As they all prepared to engage what they were tasked with, the nervous tension grew even more inside of each of them.

_We've come this far... It would be a shame to fail here… _Felix thought to himself as the two Flame Dragons in front of him roared once again, running at them, preparing to attack.

* * *

**NOTES: ****(New story picture!) Another long chapter, but**** there you have it. The sixth chapter. Let me know what you think! (Seriously, feedback helps a lot! Even it's just a sentence.) To those of you who have taken the time to leave a review - you're awesome! **

**On a separate note, how awesome would it be if in the next Golden Sun game (if there is another one anyway) they implemented wi-fi, so you could fight other people's parties online via the internet? (Speaking of which, there is an online petition for a fourth Golden Sun title, you should definitely go sign it if you haven't already.)**

**Review Responses: Jetzul - It's epic huh? Well I'm glad to see my elaboration on the two of them has for the most part been ****successful. To answer your questions: Alex's background with Agatio and Karst are never really revealed except for the fact that he felt another "pair" was necessary to push Felix and the others to light the lighthouses. As for betrayal, yes Alex does it to everyone essentially. **

**Droory - Unexpected indeed. I thought I needed to add this chapter to expand on the idea that Karst and Agatio aren't really villains as much as they are misunderstood. Also good to see that the past I created made sense, and it seems for the most part everyone liked it. Duskshipping win? I thought Lyndra was the perfect name, so it's good to see that people liked it. Intriguing story elements will only continue! **

**GengaJupite - Those chapters were pretty long, granted this one is also probably just as long. I've tried to shorten them up to a readable length, but I feel like the story gets better the further into it you are. It seems that the major story elements I'm focusing on you've liked, so that's good. At no point did you come off condescending, so don't worry. As far as grammar issues go, I look out for them whenever I can, but I cannot catch everything. **

**GS-lifelessonsinacartridge - Glad to hear you're liking the story. An 'in-between the lines" fic was also part of what I was trying to go for, so it's good to see that as well. Worried for Karst and Felix huh? Guess you'll wait and see. As for the Guardian battles, they will be epic, so don't worry. Death threat huh? Oh noes! This story isn't going anywhere, I'm always usually working on it at some point. **

**To those that have reviewed once again, thank you, and please continue to do so! For those of you who haven't maybe now's your chance!**


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